Ola Borten Moe, The Agricultural Rebellion | Ola Borten Moe attacks the farmers: – Must go within ourselves

(Nationen): In an article in Nettavisen, Storting politician and former research and higher education minister Ola Borten Moe takes a stand with farmers who demonstrated against the government’s Storting message on increased farm income.

– Sometimes we simply have to go inside ourselves, he writes.

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Believes that politics cannot take all the blame

Borten Moe believes that the politicians alone cannot take responsibility for the farmers not having a better income.

– The notion that agricultural policy is the one, defining center around which all development gravitates is, in my opinion, wrong. It is important, but as with everything else, the overall development features in Norwegian agriculture and food production are the sum of heavy development features over time that are also about culture, sociology, other development features in society, technology and capital. To name the most important, he writes.

He further points out that there are limits to what the Storting can adopt, and that farmers cannot place all the blame on politics.

– Just as politics cannot take all the blame for the fact that too few want to apply for our teacher training courses or that far too many go on social security.

Presents himself as a peasant rebel

Climate, animal welfare and technology

Borten Moe points to, among other things, climate, animal welfare and technology driving prices up, and that technology also ensures efficiency.

– For me, agriculture is a vocation, an identity and something I love, for my children at best an opportunity for meaningful work and income, he writes.

– But as long as Norwegian farmers are and must be self-employed, this of course does not mean that everyone who produces food is guaranteed an income from the state or a return on the capital invested. Some are skilled and earn well, others are less skilled and earn accordingly, he writes further.

– Facilitates a settlement that risks being voted down

Points to the Farmers’ Association

He also points to the Farmers’ Association, which he believes has been given everything they want in the message to the Storting.

– Nevertheless, they stood on Løvebakken in silent protest while the Småbrukarlaget ran the race. My own party did not have the stamina to stand by the agreement from the industry committee and thus lost the opportunity for broad political grounding for important goals in agricultural policy.

Bodhild Fjelltveit, second deputy leader of the Norwegian Farmers’ Association, hits back in a comment on Facebook against this claim from Borten Moe.

– This is a direct mistake by Borten Moe. He cannot possibly have read or listened to the input from the Farmers’ Association in this matter. It probably doesn’t take more than checking Facebook and our websites to get the facts, she writes.

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