Irish farmers are “committed to reducing emissions”, according to the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
The president of the IFA, Tim Cullinan, has responded to the publication of a national climate and air roadmap for the agriculture sector – entitled Ag Climatise – launched by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue this week.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the roadmap sets an ambitious vision for a climate neutral agriculture sector by 2050.
Also Read: Climate and air roadmap for Irish agriculture publishedIt includes 29 actions with specific and challenging targets aimed at “reducing the environmental footprint and further building on the strong credentials of Irish agriculture”.
‘Committed to reducing emissions’
Cullinan feels that farmers are committed to reducing emissions.
“In 2019, emissions from agriculture were down by 3.9% and more can be achieved by adopting a range of measures, particularly those outlined in Teagasc’s Marginal Abatement Cost Curve [MACC],” he said.
There is already significant take-up of these measures. The focus must be on supporting farmers to adopt specific mitigation measures and technologies to improve productivity and efficiency on farms. This will achieve emissions reduction.
Cullinan said that farmers must not get side-tracked by the discussions on reducing numbers.
“There is no such thing as the ‘national herd’. Every animal is owned by an individual farmer who is trying to make a living,” he continued.
“It is about supporting these farmers to improve efficiency so they can farm more sustainably.
Farmers are already doing a lot. Every farmer adheres to cross compliance measures, while over 50,000 participate in the Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme [GLAS].
“It is also important that there is recognition in the Programme for Government that biogenic methane needs to be measured differently.
“If we are to achieve emission reduction goals, then we need to increase the understanding of greenhouse gases on farms, including accounting for the carbon stored in our soils, grass crops and hedgerows,” he concluded.