Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 June 2021
619. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the specific funding allocated by his Department on research into carbon sequestration in agriculture and potential payments to farmers for such practices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32885/21]
View answerCarbon sequestration has an important contribution to make in an agriculture decarbonisation pathway. Quantifying the carbon sequestered in our soils requires scientific research.
The ability of agriculture land to absorb CO2 is influenced by a number of site-specific factors, studies have shown that temperate grasslands can have annual sequestration rates of approximately 1 tonne C per hectare. However, currently, due to large areas of drained carbon rich soils under agricultural management, grasslands act as a net source.
In the past, the lack of national long-term observational data and field experiments have been recognised as a barrier to quantifying grassland sequestration. The Department has recently announced the establishment of a National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory. This significant investment will be used to model GHG emissions and sequestration on a range of agricultural land.
In addition, the Department is providing up to €850,000 in research funding for two projects investigating how carbon sequestration on agricultural land could provide mitigation options while maintaining agricultural production (Agri-SOC) and understanding the contribution of hedgerows and non-forest woodland patches (NFW) to Carbon stocks in agricultural landscapes (Farm-Carbon).
The Department is also involved with the EU LIFE IP Peatlands and People project, with a co-funding commitment of €750,000 in support of research into GHG’s and carbon sequestration from grassland farming in peatland. The project will facilitate objectives of Ireland’s Climate Action Plan. Research on these projects is currently ongoing and results may provide the scientific basis for the development of measures in the future.
