Contact: Ciaran Dolan, General Secretary
Ireland should be to the forefront of food safety and consumer protection, and should seek to be a model for other Member States.
While ICMSA agree in principle with the above statement, ICMSA is concerned regarding the potential compliance costs and bureaucracy that may result from the above statement. ICMSA is proposing that no additional costs, changes or new regulations should be introduced without prior consultations with the farm organizations.
ICMSA is also proposing a review of all current regulations with the objective of minimizing costs and associated red tape.
Farmers, processors, retailers and caterers must accept a shared responsibility to produce safe food.
While accepting this statement ICMSA believe that the statement should be extended to the Government bodies which have responsibility for food safety.
The promotional work of Bord Bia, the Irish Dairy Board and top companies in marketing Ireland as the ‘Food Island of Europe’ needs to be underpinned by robust food safety and quality initiatives.
While ICMSA agree with the above statement, ICMSA is again concerned about the cost and red tape implications of safety and quality initiatives. Farmers need to see a return on their investment in such initiatives.
All such initiatives need to be agreed between the farm organizations and the relevant bodies.
Ireland should fully support efforts to ensure that the animal feed industry throughout the EU complies with the highest standards of quality and safety.
ICMSA agrees while being concerned regarding the cost implications of such a statement on farmers.
ICMSA is proposing that any regulations introduced should not put Irish farmers at a competitive disadvantage.
The FSAI and FSPB should develop a National Food Safety Plan, setting out clearly the responsibilities and functions of all agencies involved in food safety and the contingency plans for dealing with food safety emergencies.
ICMSA welcome the establishment of the FSPB which will see greater cross-border co-operation. However, ICMSA believe that the responsibilities of each body must be clearly specified and implemented by the said body.
Comprehensive surveillance data on appropriate food safety indicators should be collected and published routinely by the FSAI.
Accurate data on food safety issues is essential to the future elimination and minimization of such problems.
With regard to the dissemination of information publicly, ICMSA believe that it is of critical importance that the information provided is clearly explained and released in a controlled and balanced fashion.
The decline in cattle standards has led to some confusion in the media, where it has sometimes been incorrectly interpreted as a decline in beef eating quality, and this has been potentially damaging to our international marketing efforts.
ICMSA agrees fully with the above statement and believe that measures are required to deal with this problem.
ICMSA is proposing that the word quality should be dropped when reporting on the EUROP classification grid to be replaced with suitability for the various markets.
The Committee supports the various initiatives being taken to address the issue of cattle standards, but believes that particular attention must be devoted to part-time beef producers, who increasingly dominate beef farming and who derive only a small proportion of their income from the sale of animals.
ICMSA is concerned with the emphasis on part-time farmers in this statement. ICMSA is proposing that the reference to part-time farmers be dropped and that attention is paid to all farmers in an effort to improve the standard of cattle regardless of the status of farmer.
The following issues should be pursued in order to improve the standard of cattle:
build a production quality incentive into direct payments where possible;
consider how the use of fertility synchronisation products can be encouraged and facilitated, particularly by lowering their cost, while maintaining high standards of control and food safety;
launch a coordinated education programme.
ICMSA believe that the first indent needs to be clarified in the context of the current beef regime. Any such proposals should be agreed between the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and the farm organizations.
The Committee agrees with the conclusions of the Sheepmeat Forum. In particular there is a need to ensure a better match to consumer specifications by addressing issues of quality, timing and selection. It is important that sufficient research, advisory and other support is made available to bring about the necessary changes in production patterns.
ICMSA agrees with the content of the above statement but believes that one critical element is missing which are the policy changes that are required to improve the situation of the Irish sheep farmers. In particular, the changes to the ewe premium calculation and the introduction of an Extensification premium for sheep are critical elements.
The efforts to control and eradicate BSE, TB, Brucellosis and other significant animal diseases should continue. Clearly defined targets should be set and monitored by the Animal Health Forum, and the results published.
ICMSA agree with the above statement. However, ICMSA is seriously concerned regarding the financial losses that many farmers have incurred due to disease problems in their herds. The above statement should be expanded to include a commitment to have a fair system of compensation for farmers who have the misfortune to suffer a disease problem in their herd.
Effective identification systems for tracing all food animals should be put in place and maintained.
In relation to cattle, ICMSA is concerned about the quality of the tag. ICMSA believe that the Department must review this issue to ensure the most effective system of cattle identification.
With regard to sheep, ICMSA believes that the introduction of a sheep identification system must be agreed with the farm organizations and must take account of the cost implications for sheep farmers.
The structures and resources necessary to pursue disease control and eradication should be regularly reviewed to ensure maximum efficiency.
The eradication of TB and Brucellosis has been ongoing for many decades with a lot of hardship for Irish farmers.
ICMSA is proposing that the necessary resources both financial and in terms of personnel must be made available so that the problems associated with these diseases are eliminated as quickly as possible.
Public funding for the development of primary processing should be made dependent on structural change.
ICMSA is concerned with the implications of the above statement and believe that is should be further clarified. ICMSA believe that small-scale operators who are efficient and targeting high priced niche markets should not be discriminated against.
To the extent permitted by EU state aid rules, and within the limits of the funds available, public funding for the closure of excess processing capacity should also be considered.
ICMSA agree fully with the above statement but believe that the Irish authorities should push harder to ensure that such funding would be allowed under the EU State Aid rules.
The cream liqueur sector is an important outlet for Irish fresh milk and the development of other similar high value niche products should be encouraged. Year round milk supply is vital for this sector.
ICMSA very much welcomes the success of the cream liqueur sector. With regard to the year round milk supply, ICMSA is proposing that farmers who produce milk in the winter period are adequately remunerated with a substantial price premium.
Irish agriculture is relatively competitive in the short term, but, in the longer term, remuneration is insufficient to reward the non-cash factors including family labour.
ICMSA is concerned about the negativity of the above statement and believe that its meaning should be clearly clarified. ICMSA is proposing that policies initiatives that will maintain the family farm structure must be introduced to address the problems identified by the Committee.
Our response to this situation must involve a determined drive to improve competitiveness by:
improving efficiency on existing farms, in particular through investment in physical and human capital;
improving farm structures; and
developing and implementing new and improved technology through research and advice.
ICMSA agree with the principle of the above statement but the policies needed to achieve the above need to be clearly stated.
Tax incentives should be introduced for family leasing by over 55s, where the lessor is a participant in the early retirement scheme.
ICMSA welcome the above statement but believe that such a provision should be available to people not participating in the early retirement scheme in certain circumstances.
The first £2,000 of lease income should be exempt from the means test for the non-contributory old age pension and other social welfare benefits.
ICMSA welcomes the above statement but believes that the proposal should be the same as the current rule for REPS which disregards the first £2000 of REPS premium and 50% thereafter.
The minimum viable level of dairy production in 2010 will be at least 70,000 gallons. Given that less than 3,000 farmers were at this level in 1999, considerable consolidation of quota will be required. About 13,000 dairy farmers have the potential to succeed as commercial dairy farmers, provided that they are able to access additional quota.
ICMSA is very critical of the Committee in the way the above statement portrayed such a negative future for dairy farmers and believe that the above statement has done a lot of damage to the confidence of Irish dairy farmers and potential future farmers.
The above projections are just a single narrow scenario of the next ten years and depend on certain policy and market assumptions and a do nothing approach by the Government.
ICMSA believe that the Government must meet this challenge head on and put in place concrete policies to ensure that the maximum number of family farm units are retained.
ICMSA is also proposing that the Committee makes a statement that farmers with less than 70,000 gallons will have a future in ten years time by a combination of income from a number of farm enterprises and other alternative sources of income. This statement should present a positive picture for the future of the Irish dairy industry.
It will be necessary and desirable to move to a fully open market for quota well in advance of the elimination of quotas by the EU, should that arise.
ICMSA believes that the above statement is ambiguous and must be clarified. ICMSA do not agree that milk quota should be auctioned to the highest bidder and that priority must continue to be given to small and medium sized producers as is the case at present.
Public funding in support of farm investment should be provided but should be carefully targeted at:
farmers with low household income, who are below 55 years of age, or have an on-farm successor and
farm investments that produce clear ‘public good’ benefits.
ICMSA does not agree with the above statement as it is too restrictive. ICMSA is proposing that on-farm investment grants should be available to all farmers and that grant aid should increased and also expanded to include aid for increasing production and land improvement.
Consideration should be given to strengthening the training conditionality for development and other grants, as recommended by the ESRI.
While ICMSA accept the need for a good agricultural education, ICMSA is opposed to making the availability of development and other grants conditional on training. ICMSA is proposing that such grants should be available to all farmers.
Future policy should be focused on farm household viability in all its dimensions, including farm and off-farm income sources.
Government policy should aim to create and maintain viable farm households through:
developing new approaches to supporting income from farming activities;
providing targeted income support for the poorest farm families; and
policies which create and maintain off-farm employment opportunities in rural areas.
ICMSA welcome the commitment above to focus policies on part-time farmers but separate comprehensive policies are required to address the needs of full-time farmers who will be the mainstay of the Irish agricultural and food sector in the future.
The Farm Assist scheme should be monitored carefully, particularly in its first few years of operation, to assess its impact on the poorest farm households.
ICMSA welcomed the introduction the above scheme but believe that the time has come for a review of the scheme with the objective of improving its ability to deal with the problem of farm household poverty.
There should be a fair and balanced approach to drawing up the National Abatement Strategy on foot of the commitments in the Kyoto Protocol.
The measures decided on under the Abatement Strategy will need to be integrated into the overall development strategy for the agri-food sector in due course.
ICMSA is seriously concerned about the implications of the above strategy on Irish farmers. ICMSA is totally opposed to any proposals to cut livestock numbers or any measures that will lead to increased costs for farmers.
The agricultural sector must not be targeted for disproportionate and unfair treatment under this strategy.
Adequate staff numbers, IT resources and office and other facilities are essential if DAFRD is to play a full role in supporting the development of the sector. The Committee therefore welcomes the commitment in the PPF on this issue.
ICMSA welcomes the above statement but it must become reality before the end of the year 2000. It is not acceptable that a farmer has to wait a significant time period and suffer possible financial hardship due to circumstances outside of his/her control. ICMSA requires swift action from the Government on this issue.
The above issues, ICMSA believe need to be addressed.