The AGM of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has heard calls for “the end of a misleading narrative” around the emissions reduction target for agriculture of 25% by 2030.
Speaking at the AGM in Portlaoise, Co. Laois, this evening (Thursday, February 9), ICSA president Dermot Kelleher said that stakeholders in the climate debate are engaged in a narrative that the target of 25% for agriculture is low in comparison to other sectors.
“Commentary around the target for agriculture being low is very misleading when you consider that the burden is not spread out over the entire population as is the case in other sectors,” Kelleher said.
“The entire burden for meeting the target for agriculture is falling on approximately 100,000 farmers, a tiny fraction of the population.
“For clarity, agriculture is expected to deliver a reduction of 5.75MT of CO2 equivalent [CO2 eq], which is not far removed from the electricity target of 7MT CO2 eq, and the transport target of 6MT CO2 eq,” Kelleher added.
He said that the responsibility for reaching the electricity and transport targets is spread out over the whole population, while the target for agriculture “must be met by a community that makes up just 2% of the population – farmers”.
Kelleher called for progress on helping active farmers to become more profitable and at the same time more sustainable, saying: “The Climate Action Plan offers nothing in terms of financial support to active, productive farmers wishing to adapt their farming enterprises.
“The farming community is predominantly made up of low-income livestock farmers, with only 18,000 farmers engaged in the more profitable dairy sector. This is significant as it illustrates just how much those who can least afford it are being asked to do with little or no support.”
With Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue present at the AGM, Kelleher called for a number of additional supports for the suckler and sheep sector.
These include: a €250 million/annum support programme for helping farmers achieve climate targets; €80 million for a scheme to weigh cattle at regular intervals with a view to earlier average finishing; an additional €60 million for suckler farmers over and above what has been agreed in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the national budget; and €50 million in addition to CAP support in order to deliver a payment of €35/ewe for sheep farmers.
The ICSA president also called on Minister McConalogue to deliver a package of exceptional aid for sheep farmers at a level of €20/head, up to a maximum of five hundred lambs.
Commenting on the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), Kelleher urged the minister to find a way to ensure that all applicants to the scheme are accepted.
Kelleher told the ICSA AGM that it is “time for the entire country to get behind Irish farming as it seeks to meet its climate target”.
“There has been enough negativity thrown at Irish farming. We have a huge task ahead of us in terms of meeting our climate obligations and staying in business. The scale of this should not be underestimated by anyone in the government, in the media, or anywhere else,” he commented.