This week I am delighted to have a guest writer Peter Curran who has some ideas around travel and tourism business ideas and in general thinking outside of the box as to how we operate our farms

His idea was to advocate for funding in Brussels to be sought for farmers for the promotion of tourism where they could set up social networks or co-operatives. which would take on projects such as installing fishing jetties paths styles guided walking tours and mini bus tours to bring tourists to see our many cultural architectural historical archaeological places of interest along with our unique country side features. To give them a chance to see the real Ireland.

I agree with a lot of what peter is suggesting living here all my life I know of lots of hidden gems that are well off the beaten track of the tourist capitals of Ireland where you can only get to by car or on foot but first you would need to know about them. I also agree that suckler and sheep farming in parts of Ireland doesn’t offer a viable future for the next generation.

The following piece is by Peter Curran

I would like to ask your readers their opinion on trying to reform the current model of farming which farmers are engaged in from one where farmers are encouraged and incentivised by our government trough the department of agriculture and various other state agencies

to install invest heavily into infrastructure and practice methods of farming geared to streamlining the production process for factory’s and retailers to make the whole profits from products which farmers in Ireland produce, ie meat poultry dairy tillage vegetable grain,which has seen farmers become ever more impoverished

their rights to free speech and peaceful protest being rashioned by a government who think its acceptable to segregate and discriminate on those citizens in the farming community, I want to ask every farmer at grassroots level for their opinions on whether we as a community should reform the current model of farming? And how we as a community should go about reforming the current model? Those who are serious who want to advocate or want to help in drawing up and putting a plan in place to bring reform please respond to Peter curran sliabh an iarann ballinamore co leitrim.

What’s happening in Germany

The reason I think we need to reform our current model of farming to a new model is, I’ve been monitoring farmers in Germany very closely before the covid 19 virus lockdown all over the world,beef suckler and sheep and pork farmers in particular were going out of business at an alarming rate due to price for products bureaucracy and red tape, their farming enterprises had become no longer viable or sustainable ,

a simple you tube search of sheep farmers in Germany will concur with what I’m trying to point out, you must remember these farmers are in the biggest economy in the European union which is Germany, when they are going out of business at an alarming rate it leaves me quite anxious about our own future here in poor little Ireland where local economies communitys are heavily reliant on the farming community survival,

If what is currently happening in Germany starts to manifest and work it’s way into the farming sector here in Ireland our communities local economies will be decimated we may faced with a famine that doesn’t bear contemplating, I personally think it is unwise to have all our eggs in one basket I think we need to try to reform the current model of farming in Ireland to one which we invest in ourselves to become independent and sustainable, an insurance policy to safeguard against our future.

Changing our farming model

I think we need to take some of our energies from recent protests farmers brought to dail eireann and channel them in a different direction to try to change the current model of farming to a new model of farming which would see us as a farming community investing in our selves for our future, the reform and direction I think that would benefit farmers in Ireland is to either

A, put a plan in place where we would advocate in Europe ((Brussels))to try to secure funding for farmers in Ireland for the promotion of tourism where social networks would be set up farmers would be payed for time put into projects and would receive funding to take on and complete projects such as installing infrastructure.

B,we set up our own co-operative society’s which would invest in infrastructure and those who invest in the co-operative society would play an active part in the planning running and maintaining infrastructure governance and reap the benefits of their hard work, becoming independent and sustainable,

I think we need to change the current model of farming to incorporate the promotion of tourism If we are to become independent sustainable where real job opportunities are available for the young people in our communities if we are to see our local communities and economy’s flourish,

I know that 2020 has been a very harsh year on the tourism industry but on average 12 million tourists visited Ireland each year all wanting to see the real Ireland, something that they are failing to do as the infrastructure simply is not in place, if farmers were to either seek funding or to invest in a co-operative society which would put in infrastructure such as installing fishing jetties paths styles mini bus tours walking tours on farm abators bnbs restaurants souvenir shops etc to cater for these 12 million people whose numbers would grow as they actually get to see the real Ireland something they are failing to do at present .

Infrastructure such as guided mini bus tours from airports bus train terminals ,their coming to Ireland to see the real Ireland our bog lands of enormous importance they have read in natural geographic magazines in their down town apartments in Sydney Saudi Arabia Manhattan New York etc ,if you talked to the hill sheep farmers on the sliabh an iarann mountain they could tell you students from Asia China Russia Canada Japan Norway Sweden spent six months last year studying

bog lands grazing techniques on the slopes of the sliabh an iarann mountain in leitrim in an effort to formulate a plan to put in efforts to store water nutrients in soil in parts of the world over cultivated or suffering from desertification, if we invest in infrastructure tourism will grow when tourists are getting to see the real Ireland, we have huge resources on our doorstep in terms of cultural historical archaeological architectural heritage, spectacular scenery important rich bog lands rich in water storage and carbon dioxide storage capacity

Family farm survival

I think we need to invest in tourism if we are to ensure family farm survival succession and real job opportunity for the young people in Ireland and I believe our farming community will prosper local communities and economy’s will flourish once again farmers will become independent sustainable and in charge of their destiny

if we channel our energy in a different direction we can take some of our Irish government power away when they aren’t in control of our projects or our sources of income or how we manage our projects when that power is taken out of their hands it would leave them bamboozle not knowing how to control us,if we set up co-operative society’s again one rule that will be enforced is farmers will remain in governance controlling and governments who bribe and try to corrupt will be left outside in the cold and anyone who takes a bribe will be banished from our shores their can be no safe sanctuary found on the island for them.

 

 

 

 

 

A thanks to peter for sharing his views if anyone wants to contact him through the above address or through Facebook Or indeed if else has a story or point of view that you would like to share you can contact me through the social media buttons on this page or leave a comment in the comment box below.