The Farm Environmental Study (FES) pilot, which was announced today (Friday, May 21), has met with strong support from the organisation representing private agricultural consultants.
The study will, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), generate a database habitat and biodiversity data at farm level to allow analysis of farm habitats and establishing a baseline for targeted agri-environmental schemes in the future.
The Agricultural Consultants’ Association (ACA) argued that having such a baseline measurement is “critical for the future of the entire agricultural sector”.
“As part of ACA’s key targets in 2021 and 2022 and towards the next CAP [Common Agricultural Policy] – submitted to the department last autumn – we outlined the critical need for baseline measurements on Irish farms.
“Without any baseline assessment, it will be very difficult to gauge the success of any environmental programmes on Irish farms in the next decade. The positive contributions by farmers must be measured and acknowledged,” said ACA president Tom Canning.
He added: “There has always been anecdotal evidence to suggest that previous environmental schemes in Ireland such as the entire Rural Environment Protection Scheme [REPS] and the Agricultural Environmental Options Scheme [AEOS] have been beneficial to the environment and countryside.
“Both farmers and farm advisors believe that both schemes did have positive effects but regrettably there was no significant measuring or recording completed, either in advance of or during these programmes,” Canning stressed.
“It is critical for the future of the entire agricultural sector, and to mitigate any proposed reductions or otherwise, that baseline measurements of Irish farms are conducted.”
“[We] are confident that there are significant environmental assets currently in Ireland, once measured, to greatly assist in our commitments to both our National and EU responsibilities under climate change and we welcome this announcement today,” the ACA president added.
The FES pilot contains a commitment to “up-skill” farmers and advisors, something Canning said was a “major advancement” for advisors.