This is a subscriber-only article
Speaking at the official opening of the 86th National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly, President Higgins said that the tight requirements imposed on farmers should apply elsewhere in the food industry.
“We should have traceability of who is adding value at every stage to the retail shelf,” he said, attracting a round of applause. He added that legislation should ensure this, if necessary.
’Exodus of young people’
The President also insisted on the need for “balanced development”, deploring the closures of post offices, banks, shops and restaurants in rural Ireland.
He raised the farm succession challenge, noting that the lack of social infrastructure was causing an “exodus of young people” from the countryside.
Citing the latest census figures, he said: “In 40% of our electoral divisions, the population was in decline.” While those rural communities located near big cities have been more resilient as they turned into commuter belts, “there are others that are far worse,” President Higgins said.
He insisted that this was not only a problem for rural people, with issues in overcrowded cities directly related to the movement of people away from the countryside.
He cited broadband among the needs to be met to preserve the “valuable way of life” attached to farming and called for “an active, entrepreneurial state” to intervene in improving rural services.
President Higgins also said announced he will visit Australia and New Zealand next month, where one of his ancestors won several ploughing championships in Queensland in the 1860s. His visit will provide “opportunities for producers and exporters” down under, he added.
SHARING OPTIONS: