Bord Bia has been called on to suspend its on-farm quality assurance audits in response to the outbreak of coronavirus by the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA).

As part of a wider call for the suspension of inspections, ICSA president Edmond Phelan said QA inspections were particularly unsustainable as they lasted a few hours and involved a lot of interaction, often carried out in the farmers’ kitchens.

“There is a lot of scope for a desk-based audits to be done which could cover areas such as animal remedies, health and safety statement etc,” Phelan said.

Desk audit

ICSA has suggested that farmers who pass a desk-based exercise be granted a six-month extension to their QA status.

“It is clear that the very intrusive nature of a QA inspection cannot be consistent with the objectives of minimising social contact and it is urgent that this is faced up to by Bord Bia sooner rather than later,” Phelan said.

The Beef Plan Movement echoed ICSA’s calls for Bord Bia to postpone audits. In a statement, Eamon Corley and Hugh Doyle said QA certification should be extended for as long as is necessary.

Department inspections

Both organisations called on the Department of Agriculture to suspend on-farm inspections.

“It must be obvious that inspectors moving from farm to farm and interacting closely with farmers – whether it is in relation to signing reports or restraining stock – breaches the whole principle of social distancing,” Phelan said.

“Moreover, the older age demographic means that farmers are a particularly vulnerable cohort of people in terms of COVID-19 impact.”

He said land-eligibility inspections could be carried out remotely while the AIMS system could be used to monitor most risk areas.

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