Two years into his tenure, Joe Healy has developed a firm grip on the presidency of the IFA. With the support of his director general Damian McDonald and the wider executive and voluntary teams, Healy is helping steer the agri food sector through what has been and will continue to be a difficult period.

His address at the organisation’s 63rd AGM held earlier this week was clear, calculated and concise and showed a president with a good understanding of the issues affecting the membership.

Brexit was rightly at the top of his agenda and in his address he looked beyond the need for the EU simply to safeguard tariff-free access to the UK market post-Brexit. As Amy Forde reports on page 16, Healy called on the EU to ensure that in any Brexit deal, the UK could not expect to have continued access to the EU market and yet be free to open their markets to low-standard or low-value products from outside the EU. “We cannot have a scenario where the UK government can do as they please as regards agricultural trade with third countries,” he said.

Protecting the value within the UK market is of critical importance to the prosperity of the Irish agri-food sector post-Brexit. It is one area that has not received the attention it deserves and the IFA is right to bring it firmly into the political arena as trade negotiations kick off. There is little benefit for Irish food exports having unfettered access to the UK market if the value is eroded due to cheap imports.

Resolve

Finding a mechanism that delivers this outcome will certainly test the resolve of EU politicians and indeed their commitment to protecting Irish interests. With a food import requirement of €100m per day, granting increased access to their domestic market is a major bargaining chip for the British when it comes to striking third-country trade deals when outside the EU. Forcing the British to effectively take this bargaining chip off the table ahead of future trade negotiations won’t be easily achieved.

Meanwhile, the president of the IFA also linked Brexit to the future challenges around the CAP budget. His message again was clear and concise – we cannot have a situation where farmers have their incomes cut because the UK decided to leave the EU. The commitment by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in his address to the IFA AGM that any new money required by the EU should not come from cuts to well-functioning programmes like the CAP will certainly give the IFA campaign weight within Brussels.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt that Healy will be acutely aware of the challenges that CAP could pose closer to home. The increased flexibility promised in the next CAP by Commissioner Hogan has the potential to strain an organisation representing all sectors, especially now that there is such disparity in income levels across sectors.

However, Healy is not afraid to point out the challenges that lie ahead, and also outlined the internal difficulties for the IFA.

There is no doubt that farmers still believe in the need for a strong IFA as demonstrated by the fact that the membership of the organisation has remained solid. But the collapse in levies, which is largely responsible for the operating deficit, has yet to be addressed. With a reserves of almost €17m, there is no need for a knee-jerk reaction, but clearly a priority for Healy and the organisation’s newly elected Treasurer Tim Cullinan has to be getting the organisation back to a sensible level of profit. It will be important for farmers that they do so. Farming faces many challenges and it is critical that the industry has strong representation that can present solid policy positions and defend the interests of the industry coherently across national and international media. The IFA has a strong track record on both fronts.