This article is from page 36 of the 2008-04-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 36 JPG
THE Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan has called for realism to prevail in the upcoming WTO talks.
Speaking in Luxembourg at the Council of Agriculture Munisters meeting last week, Minister Cough- lan said that while Ireland, like most member states is committed to the WTO multilateral trading system, the European Union should not be bounced into concluding a deal which is unbalanced and does not respect the important role of agri- culture within the EU or the changed circumstances which prevail in re- lation to global food shortages and food security.
“We need to inject some realism into the discussions. We cannot al- low European agriculture to be sac- rificed for the sake of an unbalanced deal,’ she said.
Outlining the changed circum- stances in relation to food scarcity and food security the minister said that mounting concerns in Europe and the world on these issues makes the CAP more important than ever.
Coughlan went on to say the EU must safe-guard its production base so that it can meet the future demand of its population for food, feed and bioenergy.
“Ireland is committed to working closely with our partner Govern- ments, multi-lateral agencies and hu-
manitarian organisations to develop effective mechanisms and supports that proactively prevent persistent food shortages becoming famines in parallel to longer-term development programmes,’ she said.
Coughlan met with a number of her ministerial colleagues and counter- parts including the French Miuinis- ter for Agriculture, Michel Barnier on the margins of the meeting and she expressed satisfaction with the strong line which many of her col- leagues are taking in search of a bal- anced WTO deal which respects the important role which EU agriculture plays in the production of safe food to the highest standards, respecting animal health and welfare as well as
environmental concerns.
Meanwhile, Macra na Feirme na- tional president Catherine Buckley called on young farmers across the country to support actions taken against the WTO.
Buckley said the impact of the lat- est paper on the WTO negotiations would be a ‘Worst Trade Outcome’ for young farmers and it would dev- astate the agriculture industry.
“The future of agriculture in this country 1S very much dependent on the outcome of the upcoming WTO negotiations and EU Trade Commis- sioner Mandelson is determined to dismantle and destroy the agricul- tural industry for young farmers,” she added.