While it is generally accepted that the State, like most of its European neighbours, will fail to meet its carbon emission targets by 2030 and that current agricultural practices here are one of the key contributory factors in why we will fall short, it is also fair to observe that some of the public discourse in this area tends to generate more heat than light.
To view the move to sustainable or more green agriculture as a zero-sum game and a battle between what’s good for the pocket of farmers and what’s good for the environment is a false dichotomy, which ignores the enormous strides the agricultural sector has been making towards more sustainable practices in recent years.
While sustainable agricultural practices often come as an initial economic cost, the adoption of innovative science-led approaches to farming and food production processes can mitigate and ultimately eliminate this cost in many cases, producing a model that is both environmentally and economically sustainable.
Farmers are certainly open to this, especially where they are given the right supports. The percentage of farmland in the State under EU agri-environment schemes is 32.6 per cent against an EU average of 12.7 per cent, according to the European Commission, while average pesticide use here is less than one third of the EU average, according to Eurostat.
The 2023 Teagasc sustainability report, meanwhile, shows that even through herd sizes increased in 2022, greenhouse gas emissions on the average farm decreased, largely due to a drop in the use of chemical fertiliser. The average litre of milk on dairy farms in the State was produced with a lower carbon footprint in 2022. Tellingly, Teagasc’s advice to farmers now emphasises reduced use of fertilisers on both economic and environmental grounds.
Teagasc’s sustainability report notes increased adoption of technologies resulting in low emission slurry spreading (LESS) while there has been an increase in the percentage of dairy firms applying lime. Lime application is important in optimising the soil’s pH levels, which affects the availability of nutrients in the soil and can lead to reduced requirements for fertiliser use.
There was a significant transition towards the use of LESS equipment for slurry application. In 2022, 75 per cent of slurry on the average farm and 34 per cent of slurry on the average cattle farm was applied via LESS.
Innovations in breeding, animal feeds, soil nutrition and regenerative farming have been identified as some of the most impactful measures available to farmers in reducing Ireland’s agriculture emissions, notes Russell Smyth, partner and head of sustainable futures at KPMG Ireland. Reductions in the use of chemical fertilisers have mainly been driven by price, he points out.
“The recent reduction in applications of chemical fertiliser alongside moves to more sustainable methods to grow our crops will only enhance Ireland’s journey to reduce emissions in the agriculture sector,” he says. “One of the core principles of regenerative farming is to minimise soil disturbances which can lead to an increase in soil carbon sequestration, promote biodiversity and lead to an overall improvement in soil health.”
While these developments are all positive, a lot more work needs to be done in general for Ireland to reach its emissions targets and agriculture has a big role in this. Despite progress in some areas, the harsh reality is that the State is not on track to meet its legally binding emissions target of a 51 per cent reduction by 2030 compared to 2018 levels.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, we will at best achieve a 29 per cent reduction, showing the scale of the challenge ahead for all sectors. In terms of agriculture, the State has committed to a 25 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by 2030. However, the latest data from the EPA shows the sector is only on track for an 18 per cent reduction by 2030 even under its more ambitious “with additional measures” scenario.
“The challenge in decarbonising the agriculture sector is mainly down to the fact that the majority of the emissions in the sector are associated with livestock (enteric fermentation, 63 per cent; manure management, 11 per cent), which are very hard to mitigate,” says Smyth. “Agriculture, unlike almost every other sector, can’t be fully decarbonised using existing proven technologies, so the sector needs to innovate new solutions and technologies if it is to meet its sectoral targets.”
One such innovation, which is outlined in the Climate Action Plan 2024 and Ireland’s Sectoral Emission Ceilings, is anaerobic digestion (AD) to produce biomethane. The AD process produces renewable gas or biogas from feedstocks such as manure, food waste and grass silage through the decomposition of the organic material by micro-organisms in large oxygen-free tanks.
Biogas can be used locally for heat purposes or for combined heat and power production, or can be upgraded to produce biomethane, which is chemically identical to natural gas. Biomethane is fully compatible with the Irish national gas network and existing appliances, technologies and vehicles, and can seamlessly replace fossil gas to reduce emissions in industrial heating, transport and power generation, while assisting the agriculture sector in developing profitable diversification options for farmers and reducing emissions in the agriculture sector.
While economics will remain a long-term challenge for the sector’s sustainability journey, recent KPMG research found that there are a wide range of proven initiatives which farmers could adopt today which would deliver emission reductions of up to 13 per cent in the sector while actually improving profitability at farm level. Adoption of these initiatives remains patchy, says Smyth, suggesting the need for more farm-level education, workshops, peer learning and fiscal nudges.
The Irish Farmers Organisation (IFA), meanwhile, recognises the need for climate action but says that this needs to be balanced against the realities of economic food production. Its Thomond Park Declaration, following a summit at the venue last year attended by more than 400 farmers and agri-sector representatives, advocates a rigorous science-based approach to provide an accurate measurement of carbon emissions and removals based on research that reflects Irish conditions.
“On-farm sequestration and biogenic methane from livestock must be based on peer-reviewed trials in Ireland,” it says, adding that “on-farm measures such as anaerobic digestion and rooftop solar should count towards reducing emissions from the agricultural sector”.
It also calls for greater funding to support farmers and the wider agricultural sector to achieve renewable objectives. This should include renewable energy as well as research funding to maximise the potential for technology-based solutions to help agriculture reduce emissions, protect water quality and enhance biodiversity.
Working at the consumer end of the food supply chain, and coming from a farming family background himself, JP Scally, managing director of Lidl Ireland, notes the commitment of farmers to sustainability and says that the perceived divide between farmers and green campaigners is not as it is often portrayed by some sections of the media and political establishment.
“Once there is clarity of expectations in terms of timelines on carbon reduction, then I believe farmers are fully on board with it,” says Scally. “There is also a job to be done on educating the consumer on sustainability. Buying fruit and vegetables in season is going to have less environmental impact than buying out of season.
“The biggest issue in food sustainability, however, is food wastage, where one third of what is being produced goes to waste. And there a major education job to be done there in regard to issues like best-before and use-by dates and understanding how to store food properly.”
Among the sustainability initiatives the retailer is taking itself is the Lidl Sustainable Beef programme, developed in partnership with Bord Bia and Lidl supplier Liffey Meats. The programme involves more than 20 beef farmers from across the State, working together to implement sustainable and innovative farming practices.
The impact of the programme is being measured through AgNav, the farmer-centric sustainability support platform developed by Teagasc, the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation and Bord Bia.