The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, will tell an Oireachtas committee that the agriculture sector is “fully subscribed and committed” to meeting “ambitious” climate targets.
The minister is due to address members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Change this morning (Thursday, March 2).
Ireland has an emissions-reduction target of 51% by 2030, relative to 2018 levels. The country is also aiming to achieve climate neutrality no later than 2050.
The government wants to cut emissions from the agriculture sector by 25% by the end of the decade.
Climate
Minister Charlie McConalogue will tell the committee that “change is not easy and does not happen overnight”.
He will say that along with financial supports, farmers will need to have access to the latest science and that the role of Teagasc and the private advisory network “cannot be underestimated”.
The minister is expected to highlight that farmers have been “the vanguard of driving positive environmental change for years”.
McConalogue will say that farmers have “a vested interest in ensuring a positive response to the climate challenge”.
He will point to the 46,000 farmers who applied for the €1.5 billion flagship Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).
Agriculture
Although the 25% sectoral emission ceiling for the agricultural sector is “a hugely challenging target”, the minister will say the industry is “determined to get there”.
He will say that the target for agriculture “is anything but business as usual and will require transformational change”.
McConalogue will outline the measures already being taken by the sector such as reducing chemical nitrogen (N) usage, changing fertiliser type and providing voluntary diversification options for farmers.
The minister will tell the committee that he recently brought forward legislation for the introduction of a National Fertiliser Database in the coming months.
This will allow the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to collect a range of information on fertiliser products and will support farmers in reducing usage.
The reduction in nitrogen use is also supported through grants for Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) equipment.
Over 5,100 applications have been paid in full under the LESS measure of Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS) since its launch in 2015.
Grant funding for LESS will increase from 40% to 60% under the new TAMS.
The department is also encouraging the adoption of protected urea, “which will help to achieve ammonia emissions targets in addition to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions”.
Minister
Despite not all measures in the final reports of the Food Vision dairy, and beef and sheep groups being agreed upon, the minister will say that the documents offer potential pathways to reduce emissions.
This includes the contribution that methane-mitigating breeding strategies can play in building carbon efficiency traits into livestock and reducing slaughter age.
The minister will reiterate his ambition for Ireland to become the “first country in the world to genotype all livestock in the country”.
McConalogue will highlight the new Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme which aims to improve the environmental sustainability and genetic merit of the suckler herd.
The minister will highlight the Solar Capital Investment Scheme which he hopes will result in “the widespread development of rooftop solar electricity on farms”.
He will also outline the “diversification opportunities that are and will be available to farmers” such as tillage, anaerobic digestion (AD), organics and forestry.
The government is currently commissioning consultants to develop a biomethane strategy in the third quarter of this year.
Minister McConalogue will tell committee members that forestry premiums will increase by between 46-66% in the new National Forestry Programme, which is yet to be approved by the European Union.