Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 December 2023
456. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he remains satisfied that adequate protection is in place to ensure future protection of agriculturally productive land and the need to maintain high productivity in the future in the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56233/23]
View answerIn 2022 the agri-food sector, which includes primary production in farming, fishing and forestry, and the processing and manufacture of food, beverages and wood products, exported goods valued at a record €18.98 billion, accounting for 9% of all the merchandised goods exported from Ireland. Farm-families and the products that they produce from the land contribute massively to this output.
While many challenges exist, it is clear that the output from our agricultural land is a critical part of Irish economic output.
The CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) launched in 2023 has a wide range of schemes to support farmers and to ensure that the valuable outputs from agriculture are produced in a sustainable manner both for the climate, environment and for farm-families. The range of schemes on offer ensures that each farm can choose a form and intensity of agriculture that best suits their land. Land must be managed, and while farmers may choose to modify the type and intensity of farming that they carry out, the abandonment of land is not supported.
In 2022, my department completed a detailed study of abandoned lands that were declared as farmed as part of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). Of the close to 1.2 million parcels declared as part of BPS only a very small number of parcels (<100) were found to be fully abandoned, with no farming activity taking place in the parcel. Based on these figures, it would be fair to say that instance of land abandonment is very low, almost negligible.
The abandonment of land, even at very low instances has important consequences. Many habitats in the Irish landscape require management in some form to thrive, such as meadows. Land abandonment, however small can lead to the loss of diverse habitats and the loss of supporting habitats for flora and fauna. This is particularly bad for those species with specific lifecycle needs. Land abandonment can result in a decline in species diversity and loss of landscape diversity leading to disruption in natural processes.
Lands that are abandoned can be prone to soil sedimentation leading to impacts on water quality, the spread of invasive species and the loss of important sites for migratory species. For my Department, it is important to recognise and support high nature value farming and extensive farmers and to ensure their vital roles as land managers is economically and socially sustainable in order to support their ongoing work to maintain environmental sustainability.
