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On Friday 4th of May, MEP Luke Ming Flanagan will be hosted an important conference in the Bush Hotel Carrick On Shannon. The conference titled “Generating a return on High Nature Value land” examined all potential uses and options open to farmers to maximize the return from their land.
This important event took place in advance of CAP reform 2020 on which discussions are already under way in Brussels.

The conference aimed to encourage farmers to look at their land in a new light. We must move away from the notion instilled in us from an early age that the only worthwhile land is an acre of prime pastureland or an acre of tillage land. Every acre of land in Ireland has its vital role to play in overarching goals of food production, the provision of public goods and climate mitigation.

The conference also aimed to challenge farmers to think outside the box, to no longer look at Natura designations, or working with difficult terrain as a constrain, but rather as a marketing advantage drawing attention to the pristine environment in which they operate. This will require a change of mind-set from landowners after years of negative commentary and short-sighted policy decisions. It is not necessary to reinvent the wheel to achieve these aims, many of the farming practices currently being carried out are sustainable from an agricultural and indeed from an environmental perspective. All good farmers understand the need for conservation although they may not call in that. The importance of rotation, be it in crop or grazing, allowing the land to recover is well recognized and predated the current concepts of “conservation agriculture" by thousands of years. (Being put out to grass anyone?). What is not sustainable and must be challenged is the lack of support for the farmers who work and manage these lands. These lands must be farmed in order that they be mantained in optimal condition and supports are available within the Common Agricultural Policy to do this. As the debate on the next round of CAP kicks off farmers must demand and insist that their lands and contribution are valued and supported realistically.

Guest speakers at the conference were Humberto Delgado Rosa from DG Environment in the EU commission. Senior researcher on rural development from Teagasc Aine Macken Walsh, and policy advisor from the World Agroforestry Centre, Patrick Worms.


In order that these experts have a good understanding of the issues facing farmers and to get a feeling for the landscapes discussed they undertook a field trip for much of the early part of the day, meeting farmers and assessing for themselves first- hand the land types and issues facing farmers.

This important event was open to all, as it effects all, not just farmers. Farmers are being tasked with increased responsibility above beyond what was seen as their traditional role. There is an increasing recognition that the landscape that we regard as "natural" is not truly natural but testament to generations of hard work by farmers often in difficult conditions. If we want our landscape to be maintained, as we must in the shadow of climate change, and to have access to secure supply of healthy food, there must be an honest discussion in society about what this will mean for farmers lives and incomes.