Public must 'wake up' on emissions reduction
THE Rural Ireland Organisation (RIO) is becoming extremely concerned for the future of rural Ireland as the emissions reduction debate rumbles on.
RIO leader, Mayo's Gerry Loftus, said people need to realise that reductions in emissions are now legally binding and must happen. It is vital that working people and small farmers realise if any one sector does not do its part then some other sector will be forced to pay the price and shoulder extra burden.
He commented: “The agricultural sector has got the lowest target by far in proportion to its level of emissions, but agriculture as a whole is not the problem.”
He put the blame on the expanding dairy herd and the obvious solution, he suggested, would be to reduce the dairy herd to 2011 levels, when we were meeting our targets.
He warned: “Let's be very clear with the public. If reductions are not made on big meat and dairy producers and agri food corporations then harsh measures will be forced on vulnerable small farmers and working families.
“Farming organisations and many politicians are selling the message that a 30% reduction in agriculture would decimate rural Ireland. This is totally false.
“Suckler farmers will be forced out of business because of rising costs and little or no support. A new scorecard system first introduced in the Wild Atlantic Nature Project will form part of the ACRES scheme and will bring a new lower stocking rate as part of the peatlands strategy. This will be introduced after the land is scored in 2023 and will see huge reductions in sheep numbers in some hills.
“Small to medium sized dairy farmers will also face reductions. Dedicated farmers, some farming small and medium sized dairy farms all their lives are now being blamed for the greed of a minority.
“Instead of cutting large herds farming organisations will prove once again who they represent by demanding that reductions take place on a percentage basis across the board to lessen the cut on bigger herds. 90,000 small to medium farmers from all sectors will be targeted here.”
Mr. Loftus also pointed to failures in the afforestation programme, which, he said, now saw the forestry sector being a carbon emitter rather than a carbon store.
“Equality,” he said, “must be brought back into Irish agriculture. One core principle of the Rural Ireland Organisation is that the land of Ireland must feed the people of Ireland. We need a radically new food production system for this country, one that isn’t driven by the profit interests of a few big players but one that is democratically controlled, driven by social need and where every farmer is treated fairly.
“We are calling on farmers and workers to stand up and fight for the right to farm in a sustainable manner and join the Rural Ireland Organisation in taking on the big vested interests destroying rural villages and communities.”