West Cork IFA executive held an online meeting recently – here are the key points
THE IFA’s director of European affairs in Brussels was the guest speaker at the West Cork Executive of the IFA’s recent online meeting, which discussed the Mersocur trade deal and its impact on Irish agriculture.
Mayo man Liam MacHale is in charge of making submissions to the EU Commission and liaising with other European farming organisations (COPA) on IFA policies.
The meeting heard that all sectors will be impacted by the Mercosur trade deal, with pig and poultry sectors being the most affected.
As it stands, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland and Ireland are all against the deal, with most support coming from industrial nations such as Germany. 35% of voting countries need to reject the deal, with the current tally at 30%.
The main issue with the deal as raised at the meeting was the lack of reliable food production transparency in Mercosur countries, with standards that the IFA say fall well below EU standards.
Meanwhile, the next round of CAP negotiations will begin later this year, and the newly appointed EU Commissioner Christophe Hensen has pledged to support farmers as much as possible, with extra funding needed for sustainability and environmental measures.
Another issue raised was the banning of glyphosate products would have huge implications for tillage farmers, who may not be allowed to plough because it releases carbon from the soil.
The foot and mouth outbreak in Germany seems to be an isolated case thankfully, with some restrictions being lifted.
Bluetongue on the other hand could be a problem coming later in the summer as there are currently 199 cases in the UK, with a possible two in Wales. Bluetongue is a notifiable disease spread by insects and is not contagious with animal contact with no risk to humans. There are 2 new vaccines approved for use in the EU and hopefully will be available soon.
