New public consultation on carbon farming launched
A new public consultation on a National Carbon Farming Framework has been launched by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
As well as that, a draft set of principles to inform the development of the new carbon farming strategy has also been launched.
Carbon farming aims to support and enable the adoption and scaling of management practices within agriculture that support sustainability credentials as well as supporting Ireland in achieving environmental targets.
An initial public consultation was undertaken previously which the department said "yielded valuable insights".
However, the last consultation also highlighted that a significant level of knowledge, scientific expertise, and understanding remains to be developed, according to the department.
The department has developed a draft policy document called Carbon Farming - Developments at European Union level and Principles to develop Carbon Farming in Ireland.
The new public consultation is being launched to seek views on the these draft principles to develop this type of farming and to further inform the development of a National Carbon Farming Framework.
Parallel to the public consultation, a multi-stakeholder working group including farmers, foresters and landowners will be established to oversee the development of the framework, the department said.
Commenting on the new consultation, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon said: "Carbon farming is a potential opportunity for our farmers and land managers to derive a new income stream for their farm.
"Carbon farming can reward our farmers for the actions they take to remove and store carbon in our soils, forests, grasslands, croplands and hedgerows.
"It is also critical that there is clarity and confidence for both farmers and investors in what will be a completely new marketplace," the minister added.
He said that public consultation will cover areas of importance to farmers, landowners and foresters who have been calling for the establishment of initiatives which support carbon farming activities.
"I would encourage all farmers, foresters, and landowners to engage in this public consultation. It is important that we get this right and care is taken in what is a developing marketplace," Minister Heydon said.
