ICMSA welcome EU’s ‘Vision On Agriculture and Food’ but stress that actions will decide outcome

Commenting on today’s launch by the EU Commission of its ‘Vision on Agriculture and Food’, the President of ICMSA, Denis Drennan, welcomed the publication of the strategy and said it appeared to signal a ‘step change’ in EU farm policy. But the ICMSA President said that “obviously” the success or otherwise of the vision would depend on the policy actions that must follow.  The positive sentiments must be turned into real actions at farm level.

“There’s an acknowledgment of what has been obvious to farmers for years: that the agriculture sector is suffering and that that sector is of huge strategic significance for the EU. We also detect encouraging signals on the failure of the ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy; the realisation that imports will have to meet EU standards; that below-cost selling is a problem; that generational renewal is critical with positive comments on a farm retirement scheme. These are all issues that ICMSA, in common with others, have identified for years as requiring answers. This ‘Vision’ shows the Commission finally conceding that they do need to be addressed, and we now need to see real actions that build on the positive sentiments the ‘Vision’ contains”, said Mr. Drennan.

On simplification and the ‘rolling-back’ of regulations, Mr. Drennan pointed out that just barely eight weeks into 2025 farmers in Ireland have already seen new rules in relation to veterinary medicines, new rules on nitrates, new rules on peatlands to name but three. He said there was no sign of a simplification of farm related rules. He said the EU needs to specify exactly what rules it intends to change and how the change will positively impact on farmers. It also needed to identify issues that can be dealt with in a collaborative manner as opposed to the ‘top down’ rules approach adopted up to now and the cause of much frustration and confusion. The next CAP budget would signal the sincerity of today’s ‘Vision’ and we will need to see a significantly expanded CAP budget and the end of the ‘robbing-Peter-to-pay-Paul’ practices that had rendered CAP almost irrelevant.

On below cost selling and food imports, Mr. Drennan said that the proposals to date from the EU Commission will not address below-cost selling, which is a particular problem for vulnerable sectors. He also said that while the commitments on trade are ‘a step in the right direction’, the idea that the EU can apply its rules on environmental issues to third countries is simply not realistic and farmers would not be fooled by any suggestion that they could.

Concluding, Mr. Drennan said that the sentiments of today’s announcement are certainly positive, but – as always – actions speak louder than words and farmers remained to be convinced that the prospect of speedy actions would roll-back the ongoing legislative burden being imposed on farmers by the EU Commission.

19 February 2025

Denis Drennan, 086-8389401

President, ICMSA.

Or

Cathal MacCarthy, 087-6168758

ICMSA Press Office