The drive towards sustainability is “critical to the success” of the agri-food sector, according to Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue.
He was speaking today (Thursday, February 17) at a panel discussion on sustainability within food systems at the Irish Pavilion at EXPO 2020 in Dubai.
The event was among a number of engagements organised by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and Bord Bia as part of a trade mission to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this week.
The panellists for the discussion at the Irish Pavilion were Ailish Forde of Bord Bia; Daniel Campion, Kerry Group; Sophie Corcut, Spinneys Dubai; and Alexa Toomey, Enterprise Ireland.
Sustainability
Minister McConalogue told those gathered at the pavilion that “sustainability is not just a buzzword or marketing speak”. He said it is “a way of life”.
“As we move towards a global population of 10 billion by 2050, with a greater pressure on our natural resources, we have to ensure that sustainability is at the core of everything we do,” the minister said.
“The sustainability of our environment is absolutely paramount. We have taken mother nature for granted too much, and for too long and we must protect her through addressing biodiversity and water quality decline.
“Crucially, our farmers and our food producers need financial sustainability to ensure they can continue what they do best i.e. produce world class food and receive a fair financial reward for doing so,” he added.
Organic farming
The minister said that transforming food systems is essential to deliver on the global commitment to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
During a questions and answers session as part of the event at EXPO 2020, organic beef farmer, Jane Shackleton from Mullagh Co. Cavan asked the minister how the constant strive for growth in production is going to filter back to farmers when projected emissions are on the increase.
The minister said: “The first thing I would say is that when you look at Ireland and you look at our production system and you look at the fact that it’s grass-based, how unique that is.
“For so many of our farmers at the moment they are actually not that far away from being organic. Also, in terms of the research we’re doing and the potential for innovation and the research that I’m funding and Teagasc [is] doing, [there is] tremendous work in this space at the moment.
“The capacity to move away from chemical fertilisers for example, and from artificial inputs to natural methods… and the tools we have now in terms of monitoring soil fertility and soil health is so crucial,” McConalogue added.
The minister said that Irish farmers have the traditional natural resources to be productive and grow grass and produce food in what he described as a “really organic way”, maximising the capacity of soil to do this and also utilising new technology to help farmers be even more productive.
“I have no doubt that we have the capacity there to be as productive or even more productive than we have been in the past,” he said.
“But to reduce, very significantly, the chemicals, the artificial fertiliser and to significantly do it based on soil health and very much focusing on animal welfare, animal health and the tremendous reputation we have for food safety and food traceability right the way back to when the calf is born on the farm – when it happened, the identity of that calf from there, all the way through to the place that we’ll be eating here in Dubai tonight.”
The minister said that Ireland having an efficient grass-based system of production puts us in a strong position as we go through the next decade in terms of tackling climate change and emissions.
Minister McConalogue said that great focus has been placed on organics in the latest Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan for Ireland up to 2027, by increasing the budget for the sector five-fold to €256 million, to support farmers in the transition to organic farming.