Support our vegetable growers!
People Before Profit’s Galway West candidate for the by-election Denman Rooke has called on the government to “support our vegetable growers”. This comes after one of Ireland’s largest vegetable growers Hughes Agriculture in County Kilkenny has gone into liquidation, with 45 jobs at risk.
Rooke pointed out that, the loss of jobs not withstanding, this reflects a serious vulnerability in Ireland’s food security. Ireland imports 83% of our fruit and vegetables and sells them through big supermarkets.
Rooke described this as “breath-takingly short-sighted” and quoted Talamh Beo, saying “The most resilient food system is the one embedded in your community – there is precious little security if half the food on your plate is reliant on long, complex global supply chains and logistics operations”.
He added that this is all the more obvious to an electorate that has seen the increasing disruption of supply chains due to conflict and climate change.
Rooke pointed out that while government’s national policy discussions claim that Ireland only has 60 commercial vegetable growers (down from 400 in 1998), this is not accurate.
Talamh Beo is developing Ireland’s first national database of Local Food Producers and has identified 300 supplying local markets across Ireland, 120 of which are small – to medium -producers. “The contribution of these local food producers to the food supply is completely overlooked by the government, who offer no policy recognition or support,” said Rooke.
If the government wants to ensure Ireland’s food security, resilience and sovereignty, then providing a Basic Income for Local Food Producers, as suggested by Talamh Beo, was “a no brainer” according to Rooke.
Rooke described the government’s lack of support for local producers as part of a broader strategy that sells Ireland to the highest bidder. “Whether it’s the EU-Mercosur partnership agreement, the CETA deal, the selling off of our seaweed, or any other number of decisions made by the government, it’s clear that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael’s short-sightedness promises a grim future for Ireland”.
Rooke concluded by saying “it’s time to fight back. At the upcoming by-election vote Denman Rooke of People Before Profit and demand a Galway that we can all live in. Then transfer Left, to stop more of the same politics from stealing your future”.