Irish dairy farmers joined their counterparts from across the EU in Brussels today (Monday, May 27) to take part in a protest to demand “fairness in the agricultural sector”.
The protest organised by the European Milk Board (EMB) took to the streets of Brussels under the slogan “A fair income for farmers now”.
Farmer delegations from across Europe presented their demands to EU agriculture ministers, the European Commission, the European Parliament and other major agricultural associations today.
The EMB, an umbrella organisation for European dairy farmers from over 15 countries, timed the the protest to not only co-incide with a meeting of EU agriculture ministers but also in advance of World Milk Day on June 1 and the European elections.
EU dairy farmers
EMB president, Kjartan Poulsen said: “A fair agricultural sector, a fair income, that must be the goal of reforms.
“It is no longer enough to sidestep issues – we have to get to the root of the problem and bring about real changes.
Farmers in Europe have received less than 40% of the EU average income in 2016, reaching the 50% mark only for the first time in 2021, according to Poulsen’s German colleague and EMB vice-president, Elmar Hannen.
“Not only is this a serious imbalance, it is also a disaster for farmers and their families, and for European food security as well,” he said adding that producers are leaving the sector “in droves” and young people are “put off due to the lack of prospects”.
The EMB also highlighted that farmers across Europe have left their fields and barns today to come to Brussels, however, without the necessary reforms implemented, “many more” will leave their fields and barns “not just for a day, but forever”.
The umbrella organisation demands that the following reform measures must be implemented immediately:
- An EU-wide regulation that prohibits prices that do not cover production costs;
- Suitable crisis instruments, including a “functioning” early-warning mechanism built around the correct indicators that reflect production costs;
- Specific EU contract clauses on, inter alia, volumes and cost-covering prices prior to milk deliveries, applying to all market actors, including co-ops;
- Strong horizontal producer organisations that allow producers, including those in co-ops, to pool together for a “better” negotiating position;
- “Real” involvement of producers in the design and implementation of the Green Deal, including creation of the “right” tools;
- Mirror clauses that ensure that imported food and feed stuffs comply with EU requirements, enforced through sufficient checks and sanctions;
- Promote and expand the Fair Milk project in the EU. Participating producers are paid cost-covering prices which include a “fair” remuneration for them.
Irish presence
Irish dairy farmers were represented by the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) whose president, Denis Drennan, said the same pressures “exerted” on Irish farmers are being experienced across the EU.
“Like their Irish counterparts, mainland EU farmers are exhausted – both mentally and financially,” the ICMSA president said speaking from the protest in Brussels today.
Drennan added: “From an Irish perspective, we see no signs that our government understands that more and more farmers are just ‘voting with their feet’ and leaving active farming.
“We’re now at the point where we see farmers actually dissuading their children from following them into this life. Our French colleagues are saying the same, as are our German, Danish and Italian counterparts.”
Farmers
Drennan said the problems are the same across the EU’s farming sectors and so are the answers.
“The income for farmers is nowhere sufficient for the workload and stress involved or the importance of the food produced.
“That has to change,” he warned.
Additional reporting by Louise Hickey