Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon is aiming to secure a "partial general approach" on the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by the end of October.

As part of Ireland's presidency of the EU, Minister Heydon is today (Tuesday, September 8) hosting an informal meeting of EU agriculture ministers at Dublin Castle.

European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen is attending the meeting, along with representatives from European farming organisations.

The focus of today's discussion is the role of research and innovation in supporting the implementation of the EU Livestock Strategy and the Protein Action Plan.

Yesterday, the group visited University College Dublin (UCD) Lyons farm and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) facility at Tully to view sustainable livestock farming research and technologies in practice.

Commissioner Hansen is also due to update the council members on the impact of severe drought conditions across Europe which has placed additional pressure on crop and fodder production and farm incomes.

CAP

Despite not being the direct focus of today's meeting, Minister Heydon told Agriland that the next CAP remains to the fore of informal discussions by ministers.

The Irish presidency comes at a crucial time as negotiations intensify on the next EU long-term budget, known as the Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF), and the CAP post-2027.

The European Commission has proposed allocating just over €290 billion for agricultural interventions over the course of the next CAP, some 20% less than what it allocated to the already shortened current cycle.

"As the presidency, I want to understand all perspectives of all member states.

"The broader point around the [EU] budget is to the forefront of everyone's mind with farmers and policy makers on the AgriFish Council alike.

"Obviously, the MFF is a key focus of the overall Irish presidency and I work with colleagues across government on that.

"Ireland is really determined again to make very significant progress on the MFF discussions, taking on board the perspective of all member states and trying to get a fair and balanced resolution there.

"That is really important for us to be able to make decisions and move forward with the next phase of implementation of new policies for the next seven years,” he said.

The partial general agreement reflects that the overall approach to the next EU budget has not yet been reached.

In the event that a budgetary framework is not agreed by member states until December, it is more likely that the final AgriFish Council approach on the next CAP would then be progressed during the Lithuanian presidency of the EU next year.

Given the increased pressure on the CAP budget from areas such as defence, Minister Heydon suggested that funding for farmers could be sourced from EU competitiveness funds.

"As we consider the importance of continuing to fund food security in that broader context of the security question identifying all opportunities for funding is really, really important," he said.

Meanwhile the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen said he will "urge member states to be aware that we cannot do better with less" when it comes to CAP.

"This will be very important. We know that some member states are reluctant when it comes to [maintaining] a strong CAP," Commissioner Hansen said.

He added that the climate crisis, droughts and extreme heatwaves seen across Europe "have shown how relevant the CAP with sufficient funding is and will be for the future".

"Food security is not something we should take for granted, we see very alarming numbers as well when it comes to young farmers.

"Generational renewal is very important if we are serious about food security. Therefore we need a well-funded and functioning CAP," he said.