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Food more expensive than ever yet farmers complain of low remuneration for products

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    #32
    blacklilly
    Registered Users Posts: 2,687 ✭✭✭blacklilly


    Honey-ec wrote: »
    Any business that requires subsidies of that level clearly isn't viable and should be allowed to fail.

    You do know that would mean a high proportion of farmers would be left jobless, would require further education and training in order to find work, it would still cost the tax payer money. Farming creates and supports jobs, it is one of the very few reasons that there are rural communities left. The agri sector here accounts for a nice percentage of overall exports and our agriculture sector is renowned all over the world for its quality. Yes there are some farms that are absolutely not viable but these subsidies also act as a type of insurance to farmers. I've been worried about getting my hair wet the past few weeks in the rain, farmers have been worrying about their crops failing, housing their animals and buying in extra feed . The industry is hugely dependent on weather as well as global externalities.


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    #33
    tommy2bad
    Registered Users Posts: 4,255 ✭✭✭tommy2bad


    Honey-ec wrote: »
    Any business that requires subsidies of that level clearly isn't viable and should be allowed to fail.

    The problem with that approach is it leaves us dependent on imported food. Never a good position to be in. It's the reason why the EU or the common market at the time started subsidizing food production having gone through a food shortage.

    Letting the market set the price would work if imports were not available but they are and anyway would you want to pay about 4 times as much for your food?

    No easy answer to this, cut subs and let the industry decline or turn into an American style system, keep subs and always be dependant on tax take to keep food at an affordable level. Bottom line, no free lunch either way.


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    #34
    NuckingFacker
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,221 ✭✭✭NuckingFacker


    The Backwards Man wrote: »
    Remember years ago when farmers used to protest in Dublin every turnabout?
    You don't see that anymore because people don't have as much sympathy for people driving €100,000 tractors and €50,000 jeeps.

    CAP > supermarket cartels
    In a word, finance. The tractor is a ball of finance, the jeep is a ball of finance, usually. They're worked to death to meet the repayments which few apart from the very biggest farmers can afford really in the first place. Or else they sold land during the boom and so are really in the property business and farm as a "hobby". There's feck all money in actual farming. Most operate at a horrendous, delusional loss.


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