Call for farming programme expansion

NORTH Clare farmers, as well as an NGO, have called on the Department of Agriculture to extend the Burren Farming for Conservation Programme (BFCP) across the entire region.

An unlikely collective of interest groups gathered in Galway recently to voice their support for the expansion of the environmental programme for the Burren in what has been described as a ‘singular opportunity’ to protect Ireland’s learning landscape.

Burrenbeo Trust, local farmers, academics and artists are all calling on Government departments to support the roll-out of the pioneering BFCP across the region and to further invest in the development of the Burren as Ireland’s premier ‘learning’ destination.

At the Burrenbeo Trust’s annual showcase event, held in Galway, Brigid Barry, trust coordinator, said, “While farmers and conservationists may seem unlikely bedfellows, we feel the Burren landscape depends on farming for its protection. Today the Burren is experiencing the same population decline as many other West of Ireland landscapes, which is leading to a gradual, and very worrying, erosion in the health of these landscapes.

“So the farmer and the conservationist have a lot of common ground and by working together, we can really change these negative trends.”

Michael Davoren, chair of Burren IFA, said, “With the support of local conservation groups like the Burrenbeo Trust we have been able to pilot a new type of environmental scheme, which rewards farmers for looking after the Burren. This ‘meeting of minds’ has created a fair deal, which allows farmers to add to their income, while giving society what it wants: a healthy Burren. We are now calling on the Department of Agriculture to roll out the BFCP across all of the Burren. This will really transform the Burren and the lives of the people in it for the better.”

Professors Seamus Heaney and David Bellamy are listed among the patrons of Burrenbeo Trust and contributors at its annual gala included travel writer and journalist Manchán Magan; songwriter Julie Feeney and filmmaker Gavin Frankel.

According to Dr Brendan Dunford, “The Burren is the ultimate outdoor classroom for a truly hands-on learning experience, thanks to its unique geology, wildlife, culture and local knowledge.

“People from all over the world, from university students to Hollywood stars, are drawn to the Burren to share in a genuinely authentic and immersive learning experience.”