Some narratives around Irish farmers and the need for climate action “can seem unfair or overly simplistic”, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
Addressing a conference in Dublin Castle on Thursday, Mr Martin said he wanted to assure farmers that the Government was not underestimating the complexity of the issues and challenges facing them and would support them as they adapt to climate disruption.
“But we cannot ignore the consequences of inaction,” he said. “If we do not act with resolve now, our climate will force us to adapt later – and at much greater cost to our land, our incomes, and our communities.”
Agriculture is responsible for 37.7 per cent of Ireland’s carbon emissions, while 71 per cent of farm-related greenhouse gases come from methane arising from ruminant livestock.
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The latest Environmental Protection Agency projections suggest the sector will reduce emissions by between 1 and 16 per cent in comparison to the legally binding target of a 25 per cent cut by 2030.
The Taoiseach said there was a need for a partnership approach grounded in objective science, guided by fairness and shaped by the experience of those on the ground.
Thursday’s conference examined science-based solutions at farm level to address climate, water quality and biodiversity issues.
“This is about building a shared path forward that ensures the next generation of farmers inherits not only a liveable planet but also a thriving, competitive and respected agricultural sector,” said Mr Martin.
Significant efforts from farmers to improve environmental performance were evident “from implementing low-emission slurry spreading techniques, to planting hedgerows, to improving genetic efficiency in herds, to participating in agri-environmental schemes”, he added.
“They are proof of a willingness to lead, not lag, in the transition to a more sustainable model of farming. And yet, we must all acknowledge we are not where we need to be.”
However, he said more frequent and intense storms as well as prolonged dry spells, unpredictable growing seasons, and increased disease pressures were becoming the new normal, threatening productivity, animal welfare and the sustainability of family farms.
With the sector accounting for more than a third of Ireland’s carbon emissions, Mr Martin said it was being put in a challenging position “where it is both vulnerable to climate impacts and central to Ireland’s efforts to quickly reduce our contribution” to climate change.
“We need to see continued and sustained change in water quality practices across all sectors. Agriculture, yes, but also forestry and wastewater treatment,” he said.
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon said reducing emissions from agriculture “is a monumental challenge but one that the sector was taking seriously”.
Irish research was demonstrating the potential for a 10 to 28 per cent reduction in methane from a feed additive, depending on animal type, diet and inclusion rate of the additive.
For the first time in Ireland, one study demonstrated an animal performance benefit from feeding the additive, as well as its ability to reduce methane.
“The challenge going forward is to bring these tools into widespread use on Irish farms – and to do that, we are working with farmers every step of the way.”
Emissions arise from the normal practices employed in agriculture right across the globe, whether in livestock or crop production, Mr Heydon said.
“At its simplest, food is carbon – and producing it will have a footprint. Changing this without impacting on food production isn’t easy – if it was we would have done it long before now. It is why we and countries across the globe are investing so much in the research around this area – to ensure we are producing this food with the lowest carbon footprint possible.”
Speaking on the fringe of the conference, climate policy specialist and activist Sadhbh O’Neill said it was “a big missed opportunity to showcase ecological and regenerative farming methods and food systems that are healthy, sustainable and affordable for all”.
“The speakers, while presenting fascinating scientific research, all seem to be in a bubble. Theoretical solutions still under investigation – whether on feed additives, swards, inhibitors etc – are interesting, but are they scalable in time to mitigate climate change and provide for a nutritious, secure diet for all the world’s population?”
Each of these micro-measures would have to be implemented everywhere in Ireland well before 2030 in time to address the agricultural sector’s yawning emissions gap, she said.
The scale of that shortfall was evident in the EPA’s latest emission projections of reductions in the agricultural sector; a cut of 1 per cent or 16 per cent in the best case scenario, she said, “nowhere near the legally binding sectoral emission ceiling of 25 per cent reductions by 2030”.
Ms O’Neill added: “Tinkering with feed additives and chemical fertilisers will be grossly inadequate to meet this target. And yet the Government and its agencies continue to present Irish food exports as sustainable. Is this not the ultimate form of greenwashing?”
She accused the sector of being in denial and of changing the science when it was uncomfortable, as evidenced by a push to shift to the “GWP*”; a new method for calculating methane’s effect on climate change.
The business-as-usual mindset meant discussion on livestock reduction measures as a mitigation measure was being ruled out, she added.
While there was acceptance that overall agri-climate policy was failing, talking about “micro-achievements” was a distraction ploy, she believed.
In addition, she said there was a demand for more “robust science” for everything, “as if the shelves of the Department of Agriculture and Teagasc are not already weighed down with reports about declining water quality and nutrient enrichment of our water bodies”.
