Reset between politicians and farmers

During the election campaign, while addressing the National Council of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), Simon Harris said: “There needs to be a reset between Irish politicians and farmers.” Also speaking at this event, Micheál Martin said: “Government needs to break the cycle of insecurity which farmers face. I want us to move on to a new agenda of permanent security for farming and for the expansion of our agri-food industry as an economic anchor for our country.” 
That is all well and good but the elephant in the room was neatly brushed over, aside from a passing remark that agriculture is contributing 34.3 per cent of Ireland’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and that this needs to be reduced further.

I agree, there must be a reset of the political attitude on how the world addresses the challenge of climate change by every party and every politician in every democratic country. We need brave politicians who do not have an eye on their next election prospects, we need politicians who will stop pandering to the pressure of a diverse array of lobby groups, some of which, due to their wealth, can distort facts to suit their purpose. Ireland excels in quality food production, while adhering to strict European production guidelines and has the utmost respect for the environment. Therefore, I have no problem in saying that Ireland should continue to be allowed to produce quality food for export throughout the world and negotiate transfer of carbon credits to cover the extra GHGs this may cause. 

Before the anti-agricultural lobby has a fit at my suggestion, it should read some of the articles I have written here about the world’s biggest polluters. Fossils fuels, disposable fashion and electric cars, to name but a few, all continue the destruction of world resources and add considerably to GHG emissions. The European Union is rushing to set up agreements to buy cheap agricultural produce from Mercosur countries that do not have to adhere to the same production and environmental standards that we do. The widespread destruction of rainforests, which benefits not only the country that has custodial responsibility for it but the whole world, is a scandal. Buying food from these countries may reduce EU GHGs to within targets but at what cost to the world.

Kamikaze society

We live in a must-have society spurred on by a high level of expectation. Most people don’t care when they buy something where it came from, whether it was produced by cheap labour or from countries that have the highest levels of GHG emissions. Are we really such a kamikaze society that we would trade off a safe world and safe food for this? 

Politicians and farming organisations need to campaign for change in the debate on climate change. They need to take a single-minded approach not only with the environmental lobby groups but with Europe and Government departments and Agencies who do not seem to recognise the very real implications of importing food from Mercosur countries.

Finally, I’d like to wish agricultural contractors, farmers and all involved in agriculture, a very merry Christmas and a safe, happy and prosperous 2025.