Sir, - It is tragic to see leaders of Irish agribusiness rejecting out of hand any change in the CAP. Do they seriously think that the present system, and the strategy pursued, is the best possible way to provide farmers with decent livelihoods and consumers with clean, quality food?
Do beef industry leaders genuinely believe that their ideal strategy is to maximise production of animals of such low quality that they are fit only to be dumped cheaply, courtesy of EU export subsidies, into commodity markets in developing countries?
Our dairy industry turns beautiful Irish milk into anonymous powder and dumps it around the world - another practice possible only through massive export subsidies. In the process we lose the marketing advantage, and small farmers in Africa and elsewhere are squeezed out of any living whatever.
Ironically, these subsidies have not only gravely damaged poor farmers overseas, they have also failed our farmers at home. Protection has crowded out vision and proper business leadership. Now 80 per cent of all EU export subsidies are paid out to Irish agribusiness. This puts us in a very vulnerable position.
Yet our mild, moist rural landscape gives us a great cost and environmental advantage over Continental farmers. We can raise cattle here cheaper and better than they can. But this advantage has been obscured by a system that enables even the highest-cost German feedlot to stay in business.
It is self-defeating to claim that the CAP is just fine as it is. In doing so, Irish agribusiness leaders are failing the long-term interests of farmers and process workers at home, while continuing to hurt similar (extremely poor) farmers overseas. - Yours, etc.,
Dr BRIAN SCOTT, Executive Director, Oxfam Ireland, Burgh Quay, Dublin 2.