A series of 130 actions are set to be delivered in 2022 under an annual plan for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
The document was published today (Thursday, April 14) by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue and follows commitments made in the department’s Statement of Strategy 2021-2024.
The actions, which are already underway, are listed under five separate goals, as follows:
- To promote and safeguard public, animal and plant health and animal welfare for the benefit of consumers, producers, the economy and wider society;
- Provide income and targeted supports to farmers and others in the agri-food sector to underpin the rural economy and optimise environmental sustainability;
- Provide the optimum policy framework for the sustainable development of the agri-food sector;
- Deliver a sustainable, competitive and innovative seafood sector, driven by a skilled workforce, delivering value added products in line with consumer demand;
- Maintain and develop strategic, operational, regulatory and technical capacity and capability to deliver excellent services to our customers.
Among the actions are the national herd achieving Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) free status, publishing a new national forestry programme and securing Protected Geographical Indicator (PGI) status for ‘Irish Grass Fed Beef’ on an all-island basis.
The department must also progress a framework for carbon farming and a pilot anaerobic digestion (AD) scheme by the end of the year.
DAFM actions
“The actions range from plans to progress Food Vision 2030, implement the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan and to deliver on our commitments in the forestry and marine sectors.
“The focus of our work is building a resilient, exciting and future-proofed sector for our farmers, fishers and producers as well as the wider general public.
“The agri, food, fishing and forestry sectors play a critical role in a balanced economy as well as providing the bedrock for a multi-billion sector that feeds so many people at home and internationally,” Minister McConalogue said.