Megaphone Approach to Communicating with Farmers has to Stop
IFA President Tim Cullinan has warned the Government that their approach to discussing the future of agriculture has to change.
“In recent days, we have seen the Taoiseach, the Minister for Agriculture and the Director of Teagasc use various platforms to float ideas about what the future holds for farmers,” he said.
“The various suggestions such as herd limits, reducing suckler cows and other initiatives could have far-reaching implications for farm families. Yet we are being fed a diet of leaks, public statements, feature interviews and sermons,” he said.
The Government should sit down with farmers and try to reach an agreement on the way forward. Megaphone communications, meaningless consultation processes and PR tours of the country will not make progress. Only farmers can deliver change and yet they are being treated like pawns in the debate,” he said.
The key issues are the new CAP Strategic Plan; sectoral targets under the Climate Act; the Nitrates Action Programme; and the allocation of the €1.5bn in carbon tax funds committed in the Programme for Government.
“Farmers want to engage constructively, but the goal posts keep moving. We had AgClimatise and the Agri-Food Strategy 2030. Now we are told that these will be superseded by sectoral targets. Farming is a business and farmers need certainty. The Government must sit down with us to negotiate a plan,” he said.
