The Irish Farmers' Association has, with good reason, celebrated 50 years of successful endeavour on behalf of the farming community.
It contributed significantly to the welfare of its members during those years by embracing the need for reform and advocating modern agricultural practices. It developed a highly effective and sophisticated lobby system that represented the interests of farmers both at Government level and within the European Union. Nor has it been averse to civil disobedience.
While highly political in outlook, one of the great strengths of the IFA has been its ban on formal political affiliation and on the sponsorship or support of Oireachtas candidates. In that way, its effectiveness as a pressure group has not been impaired by changes of government. The structure and broad outlook of the organisation was inherited from its founding organisation, the National Farmers' Association, before it merged with a number of other organisations in 1971 to become the IFA.
The establishment of the NFA coincided with growing poverty and mass emigration from this State and a dawning recognition that protectionist and agricultural policies had failed. Recognition of its right to represent farmers was hard won, and the turning point did not come until 1966/67 when it launched a farmers' rights campaign, coinciding with a new industrial policy that encouraged foreign trade, inward investment and innovation.
Membership of the EEC and the benefits of the Common Agricultural Policy helped to transform Irish agriculture. But small, unviable holdings and an ageing workforce caused a precipitous decline in farm numbers that had amounted to almost 300,000 in 1960. Today, the industry is based on the output from 136,000 farms. That number is predicted to fall to 105,000 by 2015, with only 10,000 full-time farmers.
The latest CAP reforms will cause further disruption by breaking the link between production and EU subsidies, leading to a reduction in output while improving food quality and encouraging diversification into new products.
Agriculture remains very important to Ireland. The agrifood sector accounts for 8.5 per cent of GDP; 9 per cent of employment and more than 8 per cent of exports. The IFA president, Mr John Dillon, has pledged he will continue to represent the interests of farmers in a robust fashion. Nothing less could be expected. Farming has lost its mass support base and been transformed into a powerful business interest. Different approaches and strategies will be required to meet the challenges facing the sector in the years ahead.