Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 February 2022
114. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the research priorities of both his Department and agencies under its remit to assist farmers in reducing emissions on their farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6880/22]
View answerThe reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture and the central role farmers can play in this, while protecting farm family incomes, is a key priority for the Government. The Food Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to facilitate a sustainable and competitive agri-food system that is climate resilient and neutral, putting research and innovation at its core and I am glad to have the opportunity today to mention just a few of these investments.
At the outset, it is important to say that my Department provides funding for “public good” research through national and international competitive funding mechanisms. In addition, much of the grant-in-aid allocation to Teagasc, such as the €147m provided in 2021, is directed towards research and farmer advisory activities related to climate-smart and sustainable agriculture.
The strong commitment of my Department to research in the area of climate change is demonstrated by last year’s national call under the Department’s thematic research strand. This provided funding of over €12 million to 10 projects in climate and environment related research, accounting for 60% of the overall spend in this call. This will build on previous research in developing the necessary tools, technologies, and practices to reduce and mitigate GHG emissions from ruminant livestock, sequester carbon and improve the health of agroecosystems.
The Food Vision 2030 Strategy highlights some specific areas for enhanced research, including novel feed additives for reducing methane emissions, grass and multi-species swards that require lower levels of nitrogen inputs, grass biorefining for increased nitrogen efficiency and lowering emissions, and animal genetics that enable the breeding of livestock with lower emissions.
I am following through on these recommendations in the various funding instruments my Department operate and this will build on previous commitments made. For example, the ‘Meth-abate’ project which has screened a range of potential feed additives and is testing their effects on reducing emissions. Or the ‘GreenBreed’ project which has developed an index to rank dairy bulls on expected carbon output, which can then be combined with the Economic Breeding Index (EBI) to breed animals that are more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.
The Food Vision 2030 Strategy also points to the need for Irish research to build partnerships and collaboration internationally. This is an area that my Department has been active in through a dedicated International Outreach Strand. In 2021 for example, my Department committed up to €2.5m through European initiatives to research calls in the areas of GHG emission reduction and soil Carbon sequestration. We have also been longstanding members of the Global Research Alliance for Agricultural Greenhouse Gasses and more recently, have partnered on the United States-United Arab Emirates led initiative, the ‘Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate’, which will lead to an increased investment in climate related research. Our involvement in these international research efforts enable the exchange of scientific expertise and exploit synergies and efficiencies in areas such as experimentation and research infrastructures. I believe this is critically important for addressing shared global challenges, such as Climate Change, and I intend to build on these going forward.
Finally, I believe it is also important to point to the role that knowledge transfer and extension services have in translating the outputs of all these research efforts into practical applications on farms. If research outputs are not adopted by the end-user, it is a waste of resources. Developing a dynamic knowledge exchange environment is a core ambition in the Food Vision 2030 Strategy and initiatives such as the SignPost Farms programme, or the proposed Knowledge Transfer Programme in our CAP Strategic Plan, can play a significant role in ensuring farmers have access to the latest research outputs.
Sustainability in its all its guises - economic, environmental and societal - are key to protecting and enhancing our sector over the next decade.
