I was recently in the company of some people who were not from a farming background and who had no real idea of what farmers go through trying to produce top-quality food.

One man in particular started to give farmers a really hard time.

He complained about the amount of subsidy that farmers get and how this money would be much better spent on the health service or education.

I listened for a while, but eventually I could take no more and told him out straight that the subsidy was not for the farmer, but for people like him so that he could have cheap, high-quality food. I said that, as a farmer, I did not want subsidy. All I want is to be paid a reasonable price for the things I produce.

Shortages

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was introduced in 1962 because of food shortages across Europe. I think it is unfortunate that the general public either don’t remember that or don’t care enough to find out.

I don’t remember the beginnings of the CAP either, but I have read enough to realise the problems that the policy tried to put right. When you go into shops today, you would have to say that CAP has been very successful, so much so that the wide variety of cheap food on the shelves is taken for granted.

The problem that I see with the policy is that it has effectively turned farmers into beggars, who are despised by many sections of the community.

It is so sad that farmers are treated in this way, considering that we work such long hours and in all weathers to try to put some high-quality food on the supermarket shelves.

Personally, I blame CAP subsidies for this, as the farmer is always portrayed as having his hand out looking for more, just like Oliver Twist in the Charles Dickens novel.

I know that a lot of farmers probably won’t agree with me when I say that subsidies to farmers should stop. I believe that the only way to have a little bit of respect is if the market would pay enough for the farmer to cover their costs and have a little bit left for themselves. Long term, this would encourage the efficient farmers and would help the whole industry.

Of course, a lot of farmers will say that they can’t survive without subsidies, particularly those of us working in very difficult conditions. Coming from Fermanagh, I know this as well as anyone else.

But I certainly don’t want to spend the rest of my life waiting on government money to come just so that I can pay my bills.

In recent years, every time that CAP has been reformed, it seems to give bigger rewards to the inefficient producers and the progressive farmers are put at a disadvantage. For years, farmers have been chasing subsidy instead of technical efficiencies.

Certainly, I can see a lot of merit in paying farmers for looking after the countryside and making environmental improvements. Everyone benefits from a beautiful countryside that is well maintained. But this should not be used as an excuse for being inefficient.

Somehow we are going to have to get up off the floor and look after ourselves. It is not going to be easy - life never is when you are a farmer.

But to those people in power; please keep your subsidy and make sure that we are given a reasonable price for what we produce.