Sustainability must be understood to be addressed

The many practical consequences of COVID-19 are testing the sustainability of our sector to the limit. So far, we have passed these tests in terms of the continued supply of quality, safe food to our consumers. We would hope that the importance of farming and food production and processing have been further highlighted in this debacle and our image enhanced.

Our success to date has not been easy for farming, or the agri-food sector either, but we have responded in a creative way to maintain this high-quality supply of food while adhering to the need for physical distancing.

What is sustainability?

Sustainability is not any one thing and can be categorised as having financial, social and environmental strands and these are all interlinked. But what does that mean at farm level?

For primary producers, a farm business needs to provide adequate income and quality of life for farm owners and those working on farms. It is only when we can combine farm efficiency and profitability with environmental progress that we can move towards long-term sustainability.

When talking about environmental challenges at farm level, there are several different elements that we must consider

So, it is about doing things at farm level that either help to reduce or remove costs, or increase farm output, while adopting more environmentally friendly practices.

When talking about environmental challenges at farm level, there are several different elements that we must consider. The ones which we need to focus on most to enhance sustainability will depend to a fair degree on current practices on any individual farm. But as we hopefully move past the challenges imposed by COVID-19, we will see increased attention being focused on improving water quality, air quality, soil health, animal health and welfare and increased biodiversity.

The environmental challenge

While agriculture and environment had slipped down the news agenda during this COVID-19 crisis, they have not gone away. Water issues continue to be highlighted by the EPA and their Water Quality in Ireland 2013 – 2018 report shows an overall decline in water quality compared to the previous five-year period. This trend will force actions in the near future.

In Europe, we continue to have discussions as to what the regulatory framework will look like for food production and the next phase of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The Farm to Fork strategy is a key component

The European Green Deal was launched last December with an ambition to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. This includes actions to boost the efficient use of resources, to restore biodiversity and to cut pollution. The Farm to Fork strategy is a key component. This can be seen as a tool to increase the efforts of farmers to tackle many of these environmental pressures.

While the current pandemic could help to generate a more positive sentiment towards farming, it will not be enough to alleviate the wider challenges

The processing industry has also come under increasing pressure from consumer lobbies to address some of these environmental and animal welfare challenges. And while the current pandemic could help to generate a more positive sentiment towards farming, it will not be enough to alleviate the wider challenges. Therefore, it is important that we build on any improvement in farmer sentiment by being proactive right across the food supply chain.

National collaboration

In recent years, the industry has been proactive in collaborating for the greater good of agriculture. Both Food Harvest 2020 and Food Wise 2025 set out pathways for growth across the sector.

The Agri-Food Sector Strategy 2030 is now being developed. This is focusing on a number of pillars including:

The pillars and pathways identified in this strategy may need to be refined somewhat now as we are forced to consider what these will mean for the future of the agri-food sector post COVID-19.

The output from the Ag-Climatise consultation process will feed into the sustainability element of the Strategy 2030 document. Ag-Climatise is a draft national climate and air roadmap, which sets out a range of ambitious targets and actions for the sector. These will include carbon mitigation measures, increased carbon sequestration and participation in renewable energy initiatives.

Industry collaboration

There are also many examples of collaboration within industry. Bord Bia’s Origin Green has industry-wide support. It now plans to build on the sustainable quality assurance schemes and to roll out a farm sustainability platform which will act as a centralised hub. According to Bord Bia, this will “quantify and co-ordinate the totality of sustainability activity on Irish farms”.

Dairy Industry Ireland developed Dairy Sustainability Ireland (DSI). This is a collaborative industry project created to help farmers meet environmental targets, improve profitability and to underpin Ireland’s reputation as a world-leader in grass-fed dairy production.

The focus here is to provide a free and confidential advisory service to farms located in river catchments

To help generate essential improvements in water quality, the Government set up the Agricultural Sustainability Support Advisory Programme (ASSAP) with support from industry and all the main farming organisations. The focus here is to provide a free and confidential advisory service to farms located in river catchments where agriculture has been identified as the main pressure on water quality. ASSAP will be a key pillar in the new Signpost Farms initiative, which is being developed by Teagasc across agriculture.

Business initiatives

Individual co-ops and businesses are also tackling sustainability in many different ways. They are listening to and reacting to the demands of their customers. These demands continue to increase with regard to the production of safe, high-quality and fully traceable food. And parallel to this is the need to adhere to the best environmental practices and animal welfare.

Both milk and meat processors, have worked hard to meet the demands of regulations and customer requirements

All businesses rely on the commitment and capability of their suppliers to make the changes necessary to help meet customer demands and overall sector targets. Because of this, many companies across the agri-food supply chain have been proactive in their intent to drive their sustainability agenda.

Both milk and meat processors, have worked hard to meet the demands of regulations and customer requirements to deliver a sustainable suite of products. Processing plants are striving for optimum efficiency and many operate Lean manufacturing processes (minimising waste and maximising productivity).

In the tillage sector, there is also an ever-increasing focus on sustainability

Farmer-led initiatives include demonstration farms, monitor farm programmes, farm audit support, fixed milk price schemes, quality and sustainability bonuses, animal welfare audits, training courses and seminars.

In the tillage sector, there is also an ever-increasing focus on sustainability, with price premiums available to some growers who participate in sustainability initiatives. Financial institutions and energy companies are also increasing their focus on the sustainability agenda, with investment in renewable energy projects and sustainable initiatives actively supported.

The world is moving towards a more challenging environment in which to produce and trade food. As we move past COVID-19, it is inevitable that we will need to adapt to more sustainable means of production to help tackle the suite of challenges being faced by our food sector.

The power to change lies with each individual farm. But real change requires that all of our 100,000-plus farm families make progress in this regard.

Consistent messaging is vital to support farmers in this quest. To help achieve this, we must ensure that the advice offered to farmers by industry representatives is aligned. Advisory and financial support will be critical, and the Government and industry need to consider how to incentivise the changes needed at farm level.

In order for our sector to succeed, we must work together.

Research must continue in this regard and the technological solutions developed must continue to focus on optimising the efficiency of farm management practices.

In order for our sector to succeed, we must work together. We must continue to measure, continue to communicate and continue to adapt to ensure the long-term sustainability of our sector.

Agriculture has many environmental targets to achieve in the years ahead. Among the most challenging of these is to help deliver good water quality status in all of our water-bodies by 2027, as well as a 10% to 15% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. Achieving these and the other targets requires the commitment of our 100,000 plus family farms with strong support from industry.