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When challenged on the possibility of marts taking a more active role in developing producer organisations (POs) in a pilot project, ICOS livestock executive Ray Doyle was adamant that they wouldn’t become an “assembly centre”.
Farmers should focus on selling finished stock though marts to force factories to compete around the ring in an open and transparent way, said Doyle, and marts couldn’t relent from the principle of an open auction. Otherwise meat plants and multinationals would dominate price.
Resisting change
He was taking part in a discussion on the prospects for producer organisations in Ireland as part of an IFA seminar in Dublin this Tuesday, where John Finlay of Glenbarrow beef producer group cautioned farmers against resisting change.
Finlay referred to the closure of Mountrath Mart, and highlighted the need to service mart customers differently without being rigid about the model. He said the success they built with Slaney Foods as a group was based on identifying what was wanted and working to deliver that.
Solidarity among members
Other participants in the discussion included Angus Woods, livestock chair of the IFA and member of Rathdrum Lamb Group; Larry Hannon of the IFA liquid milk committee; and Paul Brophy, chair of the IFA horticulture committee.
Woods explained he was in the second lamb group as the first one failed because there wasn’t enough solidarity among members to make it work.
Legal framework
Earlier in the day, a separate session explored the the legal framework exempting producer organisations from competition law with the European Commission’s Annette Kliemann; Valerie Woods and John Eivers of the Department of Agriculture; and solicitor James Staines.
Kliemann explained POs had to be about more than negotiating a price, but a full economic service organisation with integrated activity from transport, warehousing, purchasing inputs and then a selling service. This enables POs to obtain an exemption from standard competition rules through the derogation that is allowed for sensitive sectors of agriculture.
Transparency
The legal basis in the EU for producer organisations is taken from the Omnibus regulations in January 2018 and the Unfair Trading Practices legislation which will become an EU directive in April 2019.
Kliemann also referred to ongoing measures to increase transparency and highlighted the potential for the next CAP to further accommodate the establishment of producer organisations.
This point was also highlighted by Valerie Woods, who explained that in an Irish context, 20 people were required to establish a producer organisation though an exception could be made for example in remote areas. She also highlighted that funding of up to €3,000 was available to assist the process of establishment.
Dominance in fruit and veg
Across the EU there are 3,500 producer organisations, with half in the fruit and vegetable sector. John Eivers explained that there were two involving Irish farmers. One was for mushrooms that also included Northern Irish, British and Belgian producers to supply high-end produce to UK supermarkets. The other a small local vegetable organisation with six members.
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