Farmers have human rights too

When we look at players in the farming sector, how could we categorise the relationship between farmers and agricultural contractors? Is it akin to an arranged marriage, or are we together so long we might as well get hitched, or is it a marriage of convenience? Take your pick. For me, contractors bring something to the relationship that most farmers in Ireland do not have, and that’s the ability to invest in cutting-edge farm machinery; machinery that is way beyond the financial resources of most farmers. So, for me the relationship could be deemed as any of the above and it has endured for over 60 years.
Let’s be clear, farming and contracting are not just jobs, they are vocations, which very few are queuing up to take on. Not surprising, really, with the reward of an hourly rate that is, in most cases, less than the national minimum wage. Why is this? Because agriculture is the only sector that cannot set an economic price for its production.
The European intervention in controlling the price of agricultural produce goes back to the 1960s and the Green Pound, the forerunner to the Common Agricultural Policy. Both, essentially, control inflation, and both systems are not only flawed but discriminate against farmers. I have no doubt that in any other circumstances the European Court of Human Rights would rule that farmers are being unjustly treated. By not guaranteeing farmers a fair farm gate price for their toils, our politicians are using our farmers’ endeavours to subsidise the price of food and as a tool to keep inflation containable. What other sector would tolerate that?
The system is unbalanced because there is no control over the food chain and the unequal profits made after heavily subsidised production. Not only are our farmers being denied a fair livelihood so too are agricultural contractors, who are not only tied into the unjustified treatment of farmers, but they are also further penalised by being excluded from any grants unless they own land. Even more frustrating, agricultural contractors do fall under the remit of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine because they are deemed to be part of the service industry and, as such, fall under the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, which hasn't a notion about agriculture.

I take some comfort from the fact that my frequent rants about the blatant unfairness forced onto farmers, the threat to food stability, and the total lack of political vision have been taken up by the heavyweights in the agricultural world, namely Irish Farmers Monthly, editor Matt O’Keefe. In his November editorial, he called for the fog surrounding the future of farming in Ireland to be lifted and for a workable plan for the next 30 years to be put in place. Not an unreasonable request. Ciaran Fitzgerald in his Agriland article on November 1 brilliantly explains the EU’s muddled policies and incompetence over the 50 years since Ireland joined. These are policies that have forced farmers into what amounts to slave labour, and the Commission into deals like the Mercosur Agreement undermining food security in Europe.
Finally, is the cat out of the bag? My good friend, Commissioner Mairead McGuinness, at a recent Teagasc conference said ‘farm policy had gone too far in one direction, of a production focus only, without taking account of the consequences on the environment and climate’. She went on to say that the development of the next CAP will see modifications to take account of the anticipated enlargement from twenty-seven to thirty member states. Mairead sits at the Commission table and would be party to discussions on future policies. It doesn’t bode well that she is not flagging up any measures to help guarantee a fair price for farmers, or a policy that would ensure food security for the EU. Without both of these measures, what future is there for farmers?

I’ll sign off for 2023 by wishing everyone a very happy Christmas and peaceful New Year. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost a loved one in 2023.