Tensions run high at Sligo CAP reform meeting

‘It’s time for the money to go back to farmers’

‘It’s gross hypocrisy to suggest farmers need to do more, we can’t afford to do more, we need all current schemes fully funded’

‘You can forget about generational renewal if there is no income’

‘It’s time for the Department to reward farmers in the West for the resources that it has and the national environmental benefits it brings with a proper environmental scheme’

These were just some of the sentiments expressed by farmers at Wednesday night's meeting on CAP reform hosted by the Department of Agriculture.

The Department wanted to hear a mix of strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities and it’s fair to say the feedback from the floor was more about the weaknesses of the current CAP than anything else.

Challenges

Speaking from the floor, farmer after farmer lamented the challenges of the existing structures and supports, with many calling out the dairy sector as the problem child in the industry that needs to look after its own challenges.

Others purposefully said they didn’t want to segregate the farming sectors, but suggested that suckler and sheep farmer income had been decimated.

They called out the fact that funding to the environmental schemes - REPS 1, 2, 3 and 4, AEOS and GLAS - had been progressively reduced, yet the hoops the farmers had to climb through were greater.

We understand the CAP budget is under pressure, as are farm incomes

Department of Agriculture spokespersons Paul Savage, Sharon Murphy, John Muldowney and Ultan Waldron all outlined that their position with the meeting was to listen and take the comments on board.

Paul Savage repeatedly suggested they were present to listen and not to defend the current CAP.

He said: “We understand the CAP budget is under pressure, as are farm incomes, and our position is we want to maintain it and, on the environment, we realise if we are asking for more, then we need more budget to match that.”

Over 200 farmers from Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo and Galway attended the meeting .

This was one meeting in a series of CAP meetings as part of the consultation process to invite submissions on the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of the current CAP proposals.

The Department invites submissions to be made in written form online, in the post or on Survey Monkey up to Friday 11 October 2019.

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