Minister should not progress with Food Vision reports - Cullinan

Tim Cullinan IFA president
Tim Cullinan IFA president

The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has said that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, should not progress with the Food Vision reports in their current form.

An IFA delegation, led by president Tim Cullinan, met with the minister on Tuesday night (December 13) to discuss the ongoing impasse with the Food Vision groups, along with the upcoming Climate Action Plan and other issues.

The IFA has expressed major concerns about the final Food Vision group reports for the beef and dairy sectors.

The documents submitted to Minister McConalogue present a series of recommendations on how each sector can "mitigate” greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

“The Food Vision group reports were not agreed by IFA or any other farming group. It would be wrong for the minister to move ahead unilaterally,” Tim Cullinan said.

“IFA made it clear to the minister that IFA is willing to engage further to try and find agreement around a Climate Action Plan for the sector.

“We also pointed out that changes to the Nitrates Derogation, since the Food Vision Groups were established, will impact output, cow numbers and will have unintended consequences for every sector as it is already driving up prices for land rental.

“Farmers are seeing this, along with the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and several other measures introduced by this government, as being an attempt to reduce livestock numbers by stealth,” the IFA president added.

Cullinan also raised concerns with the minister about the proposed EU Restoration Law and the Sustainable Use Directive on pesticide proposed by the EU Commission.

The association called on the minister to provide funding for all 46,000 farmers seeking to join the Agri Climate Rural Environmental Scheme (ACRES).

Minister McConalogue and the IFA also discussed dog control; the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT); CAP payments for tillage farmers with leased land; the establishment of the wool council; and the new Agri-Food Regulator.

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