Letter: No quick fixes but there may be genuine solutions yet to be discovered in bid to save Lough Neagh

However, some realities and possible ways forward are neither featured in the media nor spoken about by politicians or other interested parties.

We cannot expect farmers to massively reduce slurry use without accepting that this will have a direct impact on the level of production – and the price we pay for their products.

There should be a clear acknowledgement that we may have to pay more for our food.

We can do this either in our shops or by the executive off-setting losses farmers will face as a result of reduced productivity.

To pretend that it’s simply a case of ‘encouraging’ farmers to use less slurry and other fertilisers (or punishing them when they fail to meet new targets or cause spills) is dishonest because it ignores reality.

We should urgently invest a significant sum in our universities and agriculture colleges to do intensive and specific research on alternatives to current land management viz slurry, fertilizers and septic tank waste.

They should also be tasked with developing methodologies for the destruction of zebra mussels in Lough Neagh and further afield.

These are challenging global issues and no doubt many hours of research has already been given to these elsewhere – though without obvious success.

The intellectual strength and creative energies of our local university staff and agriculture experts is ‘top end’ and should be brought to bear immediately.

There are unlikely to be quick fixes, but there may be genuine solutions yet to be discovered that ultimately resolve the issues.

We want our cheap (good quality) food while at the same time telling our politicians we want Lough Neagh saved: we can’t - at least in the short term - have it both ways.

John Wilson, Magheralin