Farmers have been their own worst enemy’s in terms of the power dynamics in the beef industry, Minister for State Martin Heydon told the Fine Gael Ard Fheis last week.
He was responding to a call from a party member for the establishment of an independent meat regulator with statutory powers — a move opposed by the Government.
Heydon highlighted the establishment of a National Food Ombudsman and the implementation of the EU Unfair Trading Practices as key to the Government’s efforts to improve transparency in the meat industry.
However, he said farmers should not think that such efforts alone will solve all the sector’s problems.
“It has very good potential to shine a light on the transparency of the sector, but that alone won’t address the challenges we face,” he said.
“Farmers in the past have not worked together. Farmers in the past have maybe in some ways been their own worst enemies in terms of some of them being able to be picked off by processors or retailers directly.”
He said the Government has the ambition to move towards a ‘food systems approach’ with sustainability at its heart, because he said that is what the consumer demands.
“Producer organisations are key for farmers to get going where they work together and strengthen their position in the supply chain and break away from the system where they are just price takers,” he said.
An Taisce
The Ard Fheis also passed a motion to review the operations and remit of An Taisce.
It came after a debate on the environmental/heritage organisation’s appeals over the granting of permission for a new Glanbia cheese plant.
The motion called on the Government to initiate a review into the operations and remit of An Taisce on account of its statutory position in the planning process, the evolution of this remit and the organisation’s impact on efforts to secure the sustainable future of Irish agriculture.
“I have no difficulty in pointing out that the proposal for the cheese plant is very much in keeping with Government policy as it is a Brexit diversification measure,” he said.