Partnership a Dublin shopping trip for farmers
Rightly or wrongly, a large segment of farmers firmly believes that partnership agreements have not delivered the goods for them in proportion to other partners in the national agreements.
There was much disagreement among ICMSA and IFA members on whether their then leaders, Pat O'Rourke and John Dillon, should have signed onto the outgoing national agreement. While it delivered to some extent, a large proportion of farmers still believe they were short changed.
There is one undeniable fact. Relative to other sectors in the Partnership, farmers' incomes continued to fall behind, over the duration of the outgoing agreement. Farmers who opposed their participation in that agreement can say, "I told you so."
The other side of the coin is the point made by many farmers who supported the last Partnership, that it was better to be on the inside fighting the cause, than looking in from the outside with no say.
That is a very valid and constructive point.
Once again, farmers have come to the table with shopping lists.
Top of their demands is a solution to the vexed nitrates difficulties or else, the farming leaders won't sign the agreement.
If they succeed with that it will be hailed as a significant achievement, of direct benefit to a majority of farmers.
Next in line comes sustaining farm incomes, another heavy demand.
By any barometer, average farm income has slipped behind significantly in recent years.
All the indicators are that the slippage has not ended, while incomes for all other sectors of the economy continue to rise.
Achieving these aims will make the Partnership Agreement negotiations a testing time for the two newly elected leaders of IFA and ICMSA, Padraig Walsh and Jackie Cahill.
