Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 April 2024
270. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which efforts continue to maximise the reduction of carbon emissions in the agrifood sector without reducing production; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18721/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has several policies and strategies in place to ensure agriculture plays its role in meeting the national climate targets by 2030 and 2050, while continuing to sustainably produce food and feed. Indeed, the Food Vision 2030 Strategy sets out a pathway for Ireland to become a world leader in Sustainable Food Systems over the next decade.
While the emissions targets for agriculture are particularly challenging, the Climate Action Plan includes a range of measures to reduce emissions. These measures are grouped under three themes: inputs and additives, husbandry practices, and diversification. Each of these measures will be supported by a range of actions, setting out a viable pathway towards reaching our targets.
In practical terms, some of the types of actions that the sector is undertaking include reducing chemical Nitrogen usage and changing fertiliser type, and providing voluntary diversification options for farmers that improve the environmental dividend from our farmed land.
My Department and its agencies are also investing in research across of range of climate change mitigation headings. There is significant potential for technologies such as methane reducing feed additives to contribute to abatement in the livestock sector. Furthermore, the implementation of a low methane emitting breeding programme has significant potential to harness the genetic variation for methane emissions that exists within the national herd. In turn, this will bring about permanent and cumulative reductions in the methane output of future generations of livestock. The results of the research also highlight the potential to breed more environmentally sustainable animals, without having a negative impact on food production.
Our CAP Strategic Plan will support farmers to transition to more sustainable practices while also supporting family farm incomes, with a budget of €9.8bn. In addition, I have provided €1.5bn for the new agri-environment scheme ACRES, a five-fold increase in funding for Organic Farming to €256m in order to increase the area to 10% of utilised agricultural area and €260m to improve the carbon efficiency of the suckler herd through genetic improvement.
Some livestock farmers will choose to take up the diversification options that are provided as part of our climate transformation such as Organics, Forestry, Tillage and the provision of feedstock for Anaerobic Digestion as we increase the production of renewables. However, given the efficiency gains that continue to be made at farm level, I remain confident that we will continue to reduce emissions in the agri-food sector without reducing our production.
