Ms Gillian Westbrook:

On behalf of the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association, I thank the Chairman and committee members for asking us to speak here today. Sustainably feeding the growing world population while reducing our impact on climate change are two of the major challenges facing society today. While there is a growing understanding of the complexity of the links between these challenges and of the global degradation of the environment, the contribution of food and farming to climate change mitigation is too often looked at from the single perspective of greenhouse gas emissions per hectare or per kilogram of product. This narrow view fails to take into account the vast array of ways that farming itself makes a contribution to climate change.

Farming is linked to, but considered separately from, food. Industrial food production has farming as a base activity but "food" includes a range of usually upstream impacts in terms of processing, packaging and transportation. For an encompassing sustainability assessment of food production systems, it is crucial to complement efficiency measures with more systemic aspects, that is, sufficiency measures, as well as the role certain resources play in a food systems context, that is, consistency of resource use. Moreover, for effective reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture production, fluxes occurring outside the agricultural sector need to be taken into account, such as the emissions linked to the production of mineral fertiliser. For livestock production, emissions from land use and land use change linked to concentrate feed, or conversion of forest to pasture or arable crop production, should all be taken into account in life cycle analyses.

Climate change itself is too narrow a factor to consider in isolation. Environmental pollution often feeds back into and exacerbates climatic change and remains a key problem to be tackled at all levels. Working in sustainable way is at the core of organic farming, hence minimising pollution is where organic farming practices score very highly. The impact of agricultural practices, food waste and sustainable diets must all be evaluated if we are to understand how food and farming can positively contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, while simultaneously providing food security. All farming and food production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and, as such, it is vital that we look honestly at the impacts, and that includes indirect emissions which are not accounted for or attributed to agriculture.

We say this not because we wish to see agriculture held responsible but to truly tackle this massive problem. There is little point having Irish farmers dramatically change their approach only to result in insignificant or possibly no impact on a global problem. Indirect emissions from feed production in third countries, mineral fertiliser production and transport must all be part of the overall discussion if we are to get a better picture of the impact of agriculture and the whole food system. Therefore, activities that are required to keep the current agricultural system running should be taken into account. Taken together, one third to half of global greenhouse gas emissions could be linked to food production, processing, transport, distribution and consumption.

Nitrogen is a key nutrient required for fertile soils, yet its use and manufacture are linked to high levels of emissions all along its life cycle. Nitrous oxide emissions account for 32% of greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland. Emissions generated from the production of mineral nitrogen fertilisers alone, and banned in organic systems, amount to about 1.75% of total EU emissions. Reducing nitrogen fertiliser applications, therefore, is a very effective way of achieving emission reduction.

Methane and nitrous oxide emissions caused by manure management play a significant part. Manure composting is often used in organic systems. This technique alone can reduce nitrous oxide by 50% and methane by 70%. Therefore, much more consideration needs to be given to this technique.

Carbon sequestration offers tangible short-term assistance for mitigation of climate change. However, it is reversible and not permanent, and, as such, cannot be considered to be a real mitigation tool. It will, however, allow for offsetting of emissions and award some more time to implement long-lasting and permanent solutions.

There are many benefits from organic systems and these are outlined in more detail in our submission. These will and do contribute to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and make this specific farming method more resilient to changing weather conditions. To name but a few such benefits, there is higher biodiversity, conservation of soils, reduced eutrophication and water pollution, a ban on mineral fertilisers and composting. Diversified systems are, by definition, geared towards producing diverse outputs, while delivering a range of environmental and social benefits on the farm. This is what organic farming provides. Organic farming has a part to play in climate change mitigation and, as with all sectors, there is room to improve. Organic agriculture empowers farmers by helping them design agronomic systems that are more resilient towards the impacts of climate change and pollution, by enabling them to reduce dependence on external inputs and by promoting the development, rather than the degradation, of the natural resources on which we all depend for food production.

Climate change action comes in many forms and critical to sustainable food production is the need to reduce waste. In tandem with education of the consumer regarding the impact their food choices have on the environment, climate change needs to be a top-down strategic policy approach meeting the major issues head on.