This week the joint Oireachtas committee on agriculture of TDs and senators is holding a special meeting to look at the current challenges facing the tillage industry.

Will their deliberations come to anything and will they influence government or EU policy?

Ultimately a committee’s power is limited, but committee recommendations – if accepted by the Dáil or minister of the day – can result in action, especially if the discussion is based on clear facts and comes up with sensible conclusions and recommendations.

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While there may be cynicism about the political process, ultimately it is political decisions that set the policy framework by which we operate and they also determine our income.

In the Irish tillage sector, they have plenty to get their teeth into. I would hope that their report into the difficulties facing the sector will be broad enough to state the key factors affecting the industry.

At European level, the static level of output and the declining European share of the global market in a world of increasing production and consumption is a direct reflection of high costs, especially of fertiliser, unique regulations restricting the availability of agricultural chemicals as well as the banning of GMO and even gene-editing technologies – not to mention the question of unfettered imports.

There are two directions the committee’s report might take when making its recommendations.

The first is to reassess whether the current EU tillage policy is appropriate for today’s conditions and future European food security needs.

And whether they take into account the changes that have happened to production outside of Europe, such as the emergence of Russia as the major wheat exporter, the huge increase in South American production and the continuing growth in US productivity.

We have mentioned all of these before but they set the scene for the present low world prices and identify the challenges facing the EU in considering its own policies of free access to imports but tight restrictions on its own producers.

Cereal policy

The second direction the committee will have to consider in its report and recommendation to the minister and Government is how far should Ireland go in setting its own cereal policy.

There is little doubt that we would be allowed to take measures to encourage our own sector internally though it’s highly unlikely that we would be allowed take direct unilateral action against imports.

The example of the demise of our sugar industry and the minute scale of our flour milling sector are reminders that collapse can come from inaction.

The option of a direct payment per acre of cereals sown has already been proposed.

The establishment of an income insurance scheme to provide protection in a difficult climatic or financial year as well as an active biofuel policy are both features of the existing US policy.

The preference would be for a total change in the EU policy but failing this, the Irish administration will, if it is serious about wanting a balanced agricultural industry together with a climate balancing tillage sector, have to take some fundamental decisions.

Hopefully the Oireachtas committee will at least clearly spell out the options.