Organisations must be more pro-active

AFTER a prolonged, aggressive campaign by farming organisations on advance notice of farm inspections, some light is appearing at the end of the tunnel.

The EU’s justification for the strict regime on notice to farmers of inspections does not carry much strength. It is akin to penalising the 99.5% of fully compliant farmers for what may be a misdemeanour by 0.5%. But what is written down in Brussels and in national law can take a long time to change, no matter how ridiculous or nonsensical it may be.

There are lessons to be learned. The principal one is the necessity for greater vigilance at the time of drafting rules and regulations. Constant vigilance and monitoring is necessary to safeguard farmers interests in the mountains of constantly changing regulations and bureaucracy.