Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 March 2019
378. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which he plans to place climate mitigation at the centre of the successor strategy to Food Wise 2025; his views on the main changes and priorities required in the next strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10701/19]
View answerFood Wise 2025 is a ten-year strategy agreed by a range of stakeholders, both public and private, and adopted by the Government as an overarching policy for the Irish agri-food sector. It underlines the agri-food sector’s unique and special position within the Irish economy and illustrates the potential for further development.
It is the latest in series of strategies that are renewed every five years and preparations for a new strategy to 2030 are underway. Its development will involve: an analysis of a range of cross-cutting themes and the various sub-sectors of the agri-food industry; a formal public consultation; and the establishment of a committee to develop the strategy.
Without pre-empting the work of the new committee and the eventual content of the 2030 strategy, it is clear that the cross-cutting themes contained in Food Wise (environmental sustainability, market development, competitiveness, innovation, and human capital) will continue to be highly relevant. It is likely that environmental sustainability, and in particular the contribution that agriculture can make to climate action, will need significant consideration and prominence.
In this regard, my Department is currently developing an environmental sustainability roadmap for the agri-food sector to ensure that the future development of agriculture and the land-use sector, including forestry, will be built upon and contribute fairly to Ireland’s climate targets. This roadmap will be published later this year and will form a key element of the 2030 strategy. In parallel, my Department is also working on the development of Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan, which in line with the EU Commission’s proposals, will recognise that greater environmental and climate ambition is required.
