Donegal farmer will speak on how to rebalance the urban-rural divide

A Donegal dairy farmer Gareth Lamberton is set to address the Nuffield Ireland conference which takes place in the Castleknock Hotel in Dublin today, Friday, November 12. 

Gareth recently completed a Nuffield Ireland scholarship and he will present the findings of his report which aims to encourage farmers and agricultural professionals to engage more at community level in order to rebalance the urban-rural divide.

Speaking about his report, Gareth said, “As the demographics of rural areas have changed, people from within the farming community have found that their influence and standing within their local area has started to lessen. They no longer know and come into contact with as many of their neighbours - as was the case in previous generations. Furthermore, as their farms have gotten bigger, in many instances, they have less time to give to off-farm activities and pursuits."

"Many of the farms that have not increased in scale are now farmed on a part time basis, so that these farm owners have to fit their farm work around a full-time job - completing their farm tasks on evenings and weekends. This study aims to further highlight opportunities for individuals to get involved in their local community, as a means to improve the standing and appreciation of farming in society at large, and to rebalance the urban-rural debate rendered at times so toxic by climate/environment related pressures.”

Gareth’s report contains a number of recommendations for how farmers can re-engage in their communities, including  training  farm advisors to provide support and mental health advice as well as financial assistance for farmer training, health and safety and knowledge transfer.

Gareth will present the findings of his report at the prestigious Nuffield Ireland Annual Conference which takes place as a hybrid event live-streamed from the Castleknock Hotel.

The event will also feature an expert panel discussion exploring the theme ‘Future trends in agri-food policy – how does the sector need to respond?’.

The panel discussion will be chaired by Anne Randles, Director of Corporate Affairs, Ornua and will hear contributions from Tom Arnold, Chair, EU Commission’s high level expert group which will assess the need for an International Platform for Food Systems Science (IPFSS); Karina Pierce, Associate Professor of Dairy Production in UCD and Nuffield Scholar; Declan Kelleher, former Permanent Representative of Ireland to the European Union (2013-2020) and Ambassador to China from 2004-2013; and Tadhg Buckley, Director of Policy/ Chief Economist, Irish Farmers Association and Nuffield Scholar.

There is still some availability to join this year’s event virtually. Tickets for the virtual event are available now to purchase from Nuffield.ie. For more visit www.nuffield.ie