As we try to tackle climate change, all areas of society are in scope in terms of implementing ways to decarbonise, reuse, recycle and do better. But farmers feel that they are disproportionately blamed in the climate emergency. All they see and hear are people complaining that we have too many cows. But when we take a step back, it is farmers who are probably disproportionate in their analysis. Heightened awareness among all of us means that our ears prick when we hear discussions which interest us.
For example, if you follow a football team, you tune in when they are mentioned but tune out for the rest of the time. Hence you may feel that it is always your team that the pundits are giving out about having not heard the criticisms of the other teams. In the social media age, few professions get a free pass. I tell this to farmers I meet who complain that they are unfairly targeted.
And whilst there is plenty of evidence to show that social media and some mainstream media commentary on farming can be tiresome in terms of always using the farmer as the “poster-boy” to highlight the climate crises, it isn’t always the case. Aviation, transport, data centres and households are held up to scrutiny also. It’s just that the farmers’ ears don’t prick when that discussion is happening.
I recently met a politician who took a lot of flak online following one of the elections in 2024. They told me that in real life, not once were they accosted or accused of the vehemence being meted out online. It was good anecdotal proof that the online world and the real world are parallel universes and its why farmers shouldn’t pay much heed to the noise online either.
Further proof of this came last month when the latest Eurobarometer survey was published. Eurobarometer has been going since 1974 and captures public opinion with comprehensive surveys on topics affecting EU citizens. Every few years it conducts a survey on attitudes towards agriculture. And the news from this survey of over 25,000 EU citizens including Irish respondents shows broad support for the role of farmers.
The EU wide headline is 92% say that in the EU, “agriculture and rural areas are important for our future.” Meanwhile 73% of Irish respondents “agreed” that “agriculture has already made a major contribution to fighting climate change,” compared to 62% of total EU wide respondents. And 3 out of 4 Irish respondents believe that the “CAP benefits all citizens and not just farmers” whilst 82% believe that the financial supports which farmers get from CAP is “too low” or “about right.”
The results completely fly in the face of what farmers think is the public perception of what they do. Have a look for yourself. https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/screen/home
Meanwhile the EU Agriculture and Food Commissioner Christoph Hansen has hit the ground running in his first 100 days. He has appointed his 27 person European Board on Agriculture and Food which includes a representative each from COPA and COGECA, the European umbrella body of which ICOS and IFA are members. And he has published a 28 page “Vision for the future of Agriculture” document which “aims to create a fair and competitive food system that provides affordable and sustainable food for everyone.”
It’s a follow on from the Strategic Dialogue set up 12 months ago by EU President Ursula von der Leyen to mend fences with farmers who protested across Europe angry with the unworkable legislative proposals which the Commission were pushing on farmers, but which were totally unworkable. It was a concession by the EU Commission that the authoritarian approach spearheaded by Commissioner Franz Timmermans (since returned to the Netherlands to head the Green Party) was over the top.
EBAF will be chaired by Commissioner Hansen, and among its aims are to providing high-level advice to the Commission on strategic policy developments for the Vision for agriculture and food which was published on February 19th. This much anticipated document does what it says on the tin, it sets out the Commissions vision for the agrifood sector during the course of this mandate and beyond. Cynics might say its just window dressing by the Commission to keep farmers off the streets of Brussels.
But the more pragmatic reaction is that at least the commission recognise the important societal role which farmers and co-operatives play in the EU. Farmers are recognized as entrepreneurs and innovators who play a crucial role in addressing climate challenges, protecting the environment, supporting the bioeconomy, and contributing to society as a whole. The Vision document also identifies the sector’s demographic and economic fragilities, bringing the issues of farm income, competitiveness, innovation, cooperation and generational renewal back to the fore. In fact, the Commission seems serious about setting about finding ways to make farming more attractive to young farmers. The age profile of farmers is not just an Irish problem, it is EU wide with 12% of farmers under 40 years old.
100 days into his new job, Hansen is saying all the right things and the fact that he will be the Chair of the EBAF is a positive sign of walking the walk, but his biggest challenge will be protecting and improving the Common Agricultural Policy and its financing as part of the much-anticipated Multiannual Financial Framework.
Note: Letter from Brussels is published in the Irish Farmers Monthly magazine