European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness is confident that Ireland can maintain a nitrates derogation threshold of 220kg of organic nitrogen (N)/ha.
She made the assertion as she delivered the Michael Dillon Memorial Lecture at the K Club last night (Friday, November 24).
The event, co-ordinated by the Guild of Agricultural Journalists of Ireland and supported by Kerry Group, saw guests from across the entire spectrum agriculture, food and agri-business in attendance.
McGuinness, a former guild member, served as MEP for the Ireland East and Midlands-North West constituencies from 2004 to 2020.
Nitrates derogation
Due to water quality concerns, the EU Commission has said that the derogation will be reduced to 220kgN/ha in most of the country from January.
Commissioner McGuinness stressed that Ireland’s nitrates derogation “can only be maintained if the issue of water quality is actively addressed”.
The Commissioner for financial services, financial stability and capital markets union went on to say that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has served to maintain the fabric of family farms that remains in place across Europe.
Specifically, where Ireland is concerned, McGuinness identified the need for exports to remain at the heart of the farming and food sectors.
She added that this objective must be secured against the growing backdrop of every economic sector securing significantly greater levels of efficiency and sustainability.
“Business as a whole will have to prove that it is moving forward on a sustainable basis and eventually this pressure will trickle down to primary producers, including farmers,” McGuinness said.
The Commissioner said that it was no longer good enough for food industry representatives to claim that Ireland produced the best food in the world.
“The figures must be there to back these assertions up,” she said.
Soils
Looking to the future, the EU Commissioner identified the maintenance of soil health as being a key challenge for European agriculture.
“A large proportion of European soils are currently in a degraded state. This issue must be addressed on a proactive basis.
“Recent years have seen many environmental schemes introduced, which paid farmers money to complete agreed programmes of work within a specific time frame. In a number of instances this approach has been counterproductive, in my opinion.
“Having identified relevant parcels of land, it might have been better to let nature do its own thing without the active intervention of farmers,” the commissioner said.
According to McGuinness, the days of farming being treated as a separate entity within the European Union are over.
The footprint of the sector overlaps with issues that overlap all other aspects of public interest, including the environment and the economy, she said.
She cited the current debate on the nitrates derogation as a case in point. This diversification of policy interests at the very heart of Europe’s decision making process would require a response in kind from Ireland’s farming organisations.