Mercosur threat to young farmers seeking to enter the sector, says Macra president
Macra na Feirme national president Josephine O'Neill said young farmers already face barriers in the sector due to the lack of access to land, rising costs, low margins and constant uncertainty.
Speaking at the anti-Mercosur rally in Athlone on January 10, Macra president Josephine O’Neill said the trade deal further threatens generational renewal in farming.
Ms O’Neill highlighted generational renewal and the young farmers still looking to enter the sector, saying: “The Mercosur trade agreement is a direct threat to that future.”
She went on to say to the approximately 20,000-strong crowd in attendance that young farmers already face barriers in the sector due to the lack of access to land, rising costs, low margins and constant uncertainty.
She said the Mercosur trade deal, should it go ahead, “strikes at the heart of generational renewal”. She said even if Irish farmers did everything right, the possible damage as a result of this deal could undermine farmers overnight.
“There is power in this crowd, and there is power in every consumer across Ireland. Each one of us has the power to make a difference. Every label matters, every purchase matters. Read the label, ask where your food comes from and always buy Irish,” Ms O’Neill told protestors.
“Today we stand in solidarity with France, Poland, Austria and Hungary, who opposed the Mercosur trade agreement, but to Ursula von der Leyen and the other countries who proposed the agreement, take this as a warning shot, a battle cry from Irish young farmers that this trade agreement will decimate our future and turn the lights off in rural Ireland,” she warned.
“When you buy Irish, you don’t just buy top-quality produce, you invest in farmers, you defend our values, and you secure the future of rural Ireland.”
