Farmers unrest

It could be considered smug if I said ‘I told you so’ but I think I will. Over many contributions to Irish Farmers Monthly, I have highlighted the issues that are bringing farmers across all of Europe out in protest. It doesn’t need a university degree to understand why there is so much unrest within the farming sector that, like it or not, includes agricultural contractors, whose future depends on a sustainable farming sector. Price increases for inputs such as fuel and fertiliser, to name but two, are not reflected in the farmgate price or by Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments. 

The Commission, by pushing for trade agreements that allow cheap imports of agricultural products, is serving to undermine the price that European farmers can hope to achieve. This, along with a never-ending flow of directives and regulations and the resulting cost of compliance, puts European farmers at an immediate disadvantage to those countries that the Commission are happy to sign trade agreements with and who have a huge advantage due to cheap labour, a lack of employment rights or health and safety and environmental legislation. Compliance with all such requirements adds considerably to the cost of European agricultural produce.

Food security and sustainability

When questioning the wisdom of the Commission’s policy regarding trade agreements, it is not just about giving European farmers a fairer deal, it is about food security for the European Union, which appears to have been abandoned. My long-held belief is that it’s all about money. It goes back to the Commission’s wish to reduce CAP expenditure and the shortfall in Europe’s budget due to Brexit and resulting loss of UK contributions. As the CAP is Europe’s biggest expenditure, the Commission took the easy option to reduce the cost of CAP by buying in cheaper agricultural produce from outside Europe. 

Repeating mistakes

It seems to me that our European politicians are too young to remember World War 2 and its impact on agricultural output. The shortage of food and rationing that people across Europe had to endure is the reason behind why most European countries pledged to become self-sufficient in food, to secure an adequate food supply, and the free flow of food and agricultural products within Europe. 

It is clear, we do not need World War 3 to experience food shortages. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Red Sea attacks have disrupted the food chain and caused food shortages leading to rapid price increases. There are many flash points around the world that can disrupt the supply of food into Europe. The establishment of new trade alliances with Africa, South America, China and Russia means they will have control of our food supply. We in Europe must strive to be food secure, and a sustainable agricultural sector is mainly what the farmers’ protest is all about. Do we have European MPs with vision? Do we have European MPs who have studied history? All the signs indicate that we don’t.