Andrew Doyle TD, Chair of Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food & the Marine

Dear SIR: In response to the article by Patrick Donohoe in last week’s edition of the Irish Farmers Journal on greenhouse gas emissions, I would like to make a number of points that bear relevance to the debate and the wider issue of climate change.

To take a simplistic approach to what is a complex global issue will prove to be both futile and, most probably, counterproductive.

Ireland’s agricultural emissions are a case in point, they represent a sizable percentage of our overall emissions at 31% as compared with the EU average of 10%. Malta, on the other hand, creates a mere 2% of its total emissions from agriculture.

These statistics demonstrate clearly that a simple percentage figure used to set targets misses a number of key factors, namely the importance of any sector to the economy of the particular State.

The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, which I chair, produced a report in November 2014, “Land Use: Maximising its Potential”, where we set about producing an informed report on the potential to maximise the benefits of our agricultural land and the possible contribution that it can make to mitigating climate change.

We identified what we consider to be key issues:

  • Our ecosystem in its entirety provides us with the ability to produce food and biofuel from fertile soils, renewable energy, carbon sequestration and the disposal of agricultural pollutants from afforestation and pollination and other biodiversity services from environmentally friendly practices.
  • Practical measures are necessary to fulfil this potential. The use of low carbon tools, such as the carbon navigator, should be promoted and nutrient management planning should be taught.
  • In all cases, knowledge transfer, from research and development to the farmer, in as efficient a way as possible is essential. Discussion groups and demonstration farms are effective.

    • While acknowledging that meeting our targets was challenging, we conclude that it is attainable, if approached appropriately. Taking a simplistic percentage figure in isolation of all other relevant factors is not the approach. We must have an honest and open debate on this issue before reaching final conclusions.