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DEAR SIR: I read a piece in a regional newspaper that discussed the possible decline of farming in counties such as Co Clare.
However, what most commentary I’m reading and listening to fail to connect is that if there’s a large-scale decline in Irish agriculture, this will have a domino effect on the rest of Ireland’s economy.
Irish farmers spend €4bn a year on farm inputs which are purchased within 35km of the farm and the farming household spends another €4bn on living expenses.
This goes to the local villages and towns.
Agriculture is Ireland’s mainstay indigenous industry. This is evident in Co Clare. Other industries in the county co-depend on agriculture – none more so than tourism – from the lush green pastures in the south of the county that tourists first see when they land in Shannon airport to the karst limestone of the Burren.
Stewards
These areas rely on farmers and their stewardship of the lands by grazing their sheep and cattle in the sustainable ways they and their ancestors have done for generations.
This landscape we have might be a natural phenomenon but its maintenance requires a steward. We have this in the Co Clare farmer.
If there is a collapse of farming in the county, there will be a huge impact on the social and cultural fabric of Ireland. This would be a fair metric for the rest of the country in such a doomsday scenario.
Agriculture is not a self-contained industry – there would be contagion to every cell of our economy.
I’ll put it simply by saying, no farmers, no food, no future.
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