The IFA’s president, Francie Gorman, has welcomed the EU ban on Brazilian beef and poultry import, that came into effect this week following an investigation in Brazil by the IFA and the Irish Farmer’s Journal.

This investigation subsequently highlighted a complete lack of controls on the sale of antibiotics, flying in the face of the EU strategy on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This was followed by a major lobby campaign, which was led by the IFA’s permanent office in Brussels.

O’Gorman said this was an important milestone in upholding standards in the EU and described it as the first time the Commission took the issue of AMR and antibiotic usage in trade access into account. The IFA and the Irish Farmers Journal highlighted the level of unregulated antibiotic use in Brazil’s farming systems last October, traveling 3,000km across four states and finding completely untethered access to and usage of antibiotics, including Highest Priority Critically Important Antibiotics (HPCIA).

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There was no evidence of any infrastructure nor willingness to apply even the most basic controls on usage in food-producing animals.

Investigation

“IFA senior policy executive Tomás Bourke, the editor of the Irish Farmers Journal Adam Woods, and [Journal] picture editor Philip Doyle deserve credit for going to Brazil and undertaking the investigation,” O’Gorman said.

“Our Brussels office, headed by Liam MacHale and including our EU policy executive Noel Banville, then took the findings to all the key stakeholders in Brussels to highlight what was found.”

The IFA will continue to engage with the Commission to build on this announcement, the IFA president added.

“If meat from Brazil is to meet the standards for antibiotic usage, there will have to be fundamental changes to their production systems and infrastructure to support this,” O’Gorman said.

He added that the ban on Brazilian beef entering the EU will provide real opportunities for Irish beef over the coming months to fill the gap.

Factories must take full advantage and move to ensure this is returned in higher beef prices as the industry faces into the back end of the year and, indeed, over the next two to three years.

Monday 7 September

  • Agricultural Trust meeting, Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, Co Dublin.

    • Tuesday 8 September

  • FBD Young Farmer of the Year, Heritage, Killenard, Co Laois.

    • Wednesday 9 September

  • Connacht regional meeting, McWilliam, Claremorris, Co Mayo.