Farm crisis highlighted at Stormont and Brussels

The Fermanagh UFU County Chairman, David Brown from Florencecourt, was among a delegation from the UFU joining their counterparts belonging to Copa Cogecca, the umbrella group for farming unions and co-operatives across the 28 countries in Brussels on Monday.

Despite their massive presence near the European Commission headquarters, the response from the Commission was less than the farmers demanded.

David said: “It’s good to know that we made the effort to demonstate what is going on both at Stormont and in Brussels. In Brussels we saw tractors parked three wide on streets. Some farmers from France drove all night to get into the city. It was an amazing experience seeing a demonstration on this scale. Everyone wanted to make a big statement because everyone is suffering.

“We had representatives from all the sectors there, poultry, potatoes and cereals, dairying and beef and lamb,” said David.

“The UFU were warning about this over a year ago and now it is affecting everyone.” The Ulster Farmers Union said while it welcomed the fact that the European Commission had recognised the crisis facing agriculture, what has been delivered fell far short of what was needed to help farming families through the difficult autumn and winter the industry faces.

“We have pushed hard to get to this point, but we are going to have to push a lot harder to get the Commission to deliver something more meaningful than the package that emerged in Brussels on Monday,” said Ulster Farmers Union president, Ian Marshall. Speaking from Brussels, he added that it was encouraging the Commission had come up with a package of measures – but said there were few new ideas and that the amount of ‘new money’ proposed for national envelopes for the dairy sector was small, given the scale of the crisis and the need to spread funding across 28 member states although the details of this had to be further clarified.

Mr Marshall said it was a particular blow for Northern Ireland that the Commission had rejected an increase in the intervention support price for dairy products at this stage.

“We still believe this would have helped put a floor into the market – and the rejection of this thinking was despite a well-argued case for an increase having been put forward by a number of member states, and by political and industry representatives from Northern Ireland,” he said.

The package will bring some additional aid for dairy and pig farmers, but the UFU says other sectors also facing tough times have been largely ignored. While the Commission confirmed, as expected, that member states will be able to make early CAP payments the UFU says this will likely be improbable in Northern Ireland.

Reacting to the new aid package proposed by the EU Commission this week to help alleviate the drastic situation hitting EU farmers, Copa and Cogeca warned it is far from sufficient to have any noticeable impact.

Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen warned: “We held a mass demonstration of over 6000 farmers and 2000 tractors to show the EU Commission that farmers are suffering enormously from the severe situation hitting the EU agriculture market, especially in the EU pigmeat, dairy, fruit and vegetable and beef sectors. It is clear that an aid package of 500 million euros is nowhere enough to compensate farmers for the loss of their main export market Russia worth 5.5 billion euros annually. EU farmers are paying the price for international politics. Prices are below production costs in many countries and farmers’ incomes half the average level, forcing some to close down. There are a few positive elements in the package but it falls short of our expectations.” UFU President, Ian Marshall and the other UK farming unions briefed the devolved farming ministers, including local agriculture minister, Michelle O’Neill and welcomed their support for the Brussels protest and the farm council meeting. The UFU also wants to see the government in London demonstrating greater support for agriculture. They have met with DEFRA Minister Liz Truss on numerous occasions and will continue to press this case with the DEFRA Minister.

“Farmers across many sectors are feeling the impact of prices that are not sustainable. Today’s protest brings to the fore the urgency of the issues dominating the food supply chain, which at present is failing to function properly,” said Ian Marshall. He added that the UFU had joined the Brussels demonstration to highlight the need for action to ease the pressures facing many farmers in Northern Ireland, “We need an urgent review of the functionality of the supply chain. said Mr Marshall.

Mr Marshall added that the Brussels demonstration was a show of solidarity between Northern Ireland and its European counterparts. “By taking part today UFU is reminding the farm commissioner and national ministers that the voice of farmers needs to be heard.” he said.

At a demonstration at Stormont on Friday attended by representatives fo the agri-food industry, Agriculture Minister, Michelle O’Neill said the European Commission could not ignore the demands of Northern Ireland’s farmers for help to tackle the crisis across the agri-food industry.

Minister O’Neill told the demonstration, organised to highlight the impact of the crisis ahead of an emergency meeting of the Agriculture Council in Brussels, that working together was the most effective way to make our voices heard.

She said: “The fact that farmers, processors, feed merchants, the Agri-Food Strategy Board and others are represented here shows the depth of concern right along the supply chain.” The Minister added: “I have always believed the agri-food industry is the bedrock of our economy and a key force in shaping our natural environment, culture and society. We share a common concern about the fall in prices and how that translates into prices below the cost of production, the effect on business profitability and the direct impact that this is having on farmers and their families.” The Ulster Farmers Union demonstration attracted over 500 supporters.

Mr. Jim Nicholson MEP said after the package was announced:“The headline grabbing €500million targeted aid for farmers will not amount to much once it is subdivided across 28 Member States. Defra must however work hard so that the UK secures as much of this fund as possible. In addition, as the money is intended to be directed primarily to the dairy sector, Defra must also prioritise Northern Ireland’s farmers when dividing the funds between the UK’s regions. Producers in Northern Ireland have been hit harder by the dairy crisis than their GB counterparts - the ball is therefore in Defra’s court on this key aspect of what has been announced. “Crucially the European Commission has not committed to a review of the dairy intervention prices. This is hugely frustrating given that current levels are totally out of date and are as a result ineffective. The Commission must use all the tools at its disposal to assist the industry and reviewing intervention levels would bring much needed stability and confidence to the market - I note that the French in particular are continuing to push for action on this front.

Sinn Fein MEP, Martina Anderson stated: “While the funding announced yesterday is welcome, it does not go far enough.

“The impact it will have once it is stretched over 28 member states, concerns me. The special aid package does not reflect the needs of one of our most important industries, the dairy sector.

“Michelle O’Neill has been pushing tirelessly for a raise in the intervention price and although British Environment Secretary, Liz Truss and the EU Agri Commissioner, Phil Hogan, failed to recognise the north as a unique case, I have no doubt that Michelle O’Neill will continue do all that she can to make sure that the share the north receives is based on need and reflective of our vulnerability.”