Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 May 2022
396. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps that he is taking to promote the uptake of organic production within the dairy sector; if his Department has completed an assessment of the impact this could have on dairy emissions; if a similar assessment has been performed in the beef sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25483/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) will continue to engage with the dairy sector dairy to advance market opportunities with regard to organic dairy production.
I have ensured priority access for organic dairy farmers in the current Organic Farming Scheme. I have also included an attractive financial incentive in the Organic Farming Scheme under the next CAP in the draft proposals. An additional support for this sector is the Organic Capital Investment Scheme which is open to licensed organic operators including dairy farmers. This I believe will encourage many farmers to consider the benefits of converting to organic dairy production
In the CAP Strategic Plan, it is highlighted that for every 100,000 ha converting to organic production there is a reduction on GHG emissions of 0.1MTonnes as a consequence of chemical fertilisers not being used. This is an average reduction taking account of all farm types and is not specific to the organic dairy sector.
However, the reduction in GHG is higher for dairy farms as average fertiliser use is higher for this cohort compared to, say, extensive drystock farms.
