The number one aim of the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) needs to be keeping farmers on the land, says Saoirse McHugh. From Achill Island, Saoirse is a candidate in the upcoming European Parliament elections, representing the Green party.

“The next CAP will have to really address land ownership because this concentration of land is happening all over Europe is awful. I think it’s vital we keep people on the land. We have young farmer schemes in the CAP but also subsidies that push up the price of land,” she says, referring to the Irish Farmers Journal land price report which showed that business people buy 25% of the land sold in Ireland.

Environmental action is also important in the CAP but she says “it is not going to work unless people are paid for it... Agriculture is our largest interface with nature; planes could keep flying if the world was burnt but you could not keep growing food.”

Watch the Irish Farmers Journal’s full interview with Saoirse here:

Developing a common food policy is necessary to bring the CAP in to line with trade, health and environmental policies, Saoirse says. She also believes that there needs to be further educational work done to help consumers understand the affect their food choices has on the environment around them.

“The consumer side really does affect the shape of our agricultural landscape, so I think CAP needs to be brought into line with other policies. We are facing a CAP reduction so harmonising all these disparities in CAP is really important.

“[Consumers need to understand that] if I don’t buy Irish, I’m voting for imported food. If I choose to buy this, this will change what our countryside will look like.”

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