Mainstream media shun agriculture – not politicians

I WAS disappointed at the conclusions drawn by Ivan Yates in his column headlined ‘My mission statement for the future of agriculture in the national interest’ (July 8).

He asks who cares about the agricultural sector and authoritatively replies “not politicians”. I reject his ill-informed judgment in this situation.

He emphasises the value of our agri-food sector and its potential as an economic driver.

He then points to three key policy areas where he claims politicians are failing to engage – CAP reform, the GM issue and the power of the multiples.

While the Government may be deficient in addressing these three key issues, it is facile to say the same of all politicians.

Recently, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture welcomed the largest farm organisations for a discussion on forthcoming CAP reform. There was no major demand for seats in the press gallery. Since early this year Fine Gael has been engaging publicly in this issue and has hosted a series of public meetings throughout the country.

While this initiative may not have attracted the attention of Ivan Yates and his colleagues in the media, nevertheless politicians sought the views of the farming community and beyond on how the CAP should be shaped post-2013.

On the GM issue, despite many attempts during Dáil questions, conference speeches and press statements to bring the matter to the attention of the public at large, the media have refused to engage with this issue, despite the fact Irish agriculture is losing to the tune of €60 million per annum on a matter of ideology.

Last year, Fine Gael published legislation that would tackle the power of the large multiple retailers.

The party’s fair trade bill would outlaw practices such as the requesting of “hello money” and thus redress the imbalance that exists between the retailer, supplier and, crucially, the farmer. While the bill received some attention in the mainstream media, it wasn’t exactly fodder for the editors. Fine Gael has spent the past 12 months pressurising the Government to implement this legislation, and despite assembling a strong coalition of support from business and agriculture, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe, still procrastinates.

Ivan Yates correctly points out that agricultural news has been relegated to niche print supplements and segmented broadcasts. No fault of the politicians.

In fact, politicians on all sides of the political divide fight tooth and nail for exposure in this marginalised forum. Politicians don’t write the newspapers, host the news or produce radio programmes.

Our political system may be culpable for many of our current ills, but cheap shots from Ivan Yates undermine the real search for accountability.

Michael Creed TD

Railway View

Macroom

Co Cork