There is a need to “accelerate” the rate of sustainable changes in the agricultural sector, according to the group commercial director of Dawn Meats, Richard Clinton.
Clinton highlighted the positive results from the sector but also stressed the need for “collaboration” in order to speed up the process, at a climate conference in University College Dublin (UCD) today (Thursday, September 28) .
The conference was hosted by EIT Climate-KIC and focused on how to achieve sustainable food systems in Ireland and beyond.
EIT Climate-KIC, an innovation agency co-funded by the EU, is involved in a “deep demonstration project” with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to examine what new and existing projects can be used to ensure that the agriculture sector meets its emissions reduction targets.
Today at the climate conference the group commercial director of Dawn Meats took part in a panel with the president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) Pat McCormack and AON, EMEA Food & Beverage Specialty Leader, Deirdre O’Shea.
The conference was moderated by the editor of Agriland, Stella Meehan.
Clinton said that reaching climate goals by 2030 “is not going to cut it”, and that further improvements will have to be made.
He added that for many years state supports were pointing in a different directions for those in the agricultural sector, and that these same people are now being asked to “reverse gear”.
Sustainable changes
Clinton said the speed at which change is happening “has to” be supported by government and industry.
He added that by sharing practices that are known to work and by “accelerating their implementation”, then goals will be met.
But Clinton also said that there is a need to treat people as partners in the process of change and that “unfortunately” that approach was “not always the case”.
“In the case of Dawn, we’ve been involved in initiatives on farm and research programmes now since the early 2000s.
“It’s critically important that when we set targets, that we’re clearly seen to be delivering on these targets,” he added.
Cost
Industry leader, AON’s Deirdre O’Shea, said that cost is the biggest “barrier” to this acceleration in the industry.
Meanwhile ICMSA president, Pat McCormack highlighted that “significant” investment in scaling up on dairy farms is needed within the sector, and that the lack of recognition on farm level for sustainability practices can be “frustrating” for farmers.
McCormack said that farmers want economic stability, which he added would help younger farmers.