Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. McAuley, Mr. O'Flaherty and Mr. Green for coming here. Conservation agriculture is a new term to me and I found their presentation most interesting. The figure of over 100 million ha globally and that increasing is quite startling. It seems to be the direction in which agriculture is going.

The presentation stated that the use of synthetic chemical pesticides is inevitable in the first few years in conservation agriculture. Is it the case that it is used to get started in order to get control of the soil, and then it is weaned out over several years? If that is the case, how long does it take before one can go without it?

On faba beans and peas, is the product used solely for animal feed or is it for human consumption or a broader market?

If we hope that more people will consider operating in this vein, do we need more consideration of conservation agriculture in the training colleges and universities, so that it becomes a very important part in anyone's study of agriculture? If one wishes more people to participate in this, then they need to be educated on the matter.

Will the witnesses give their view of the state of Irish soil generally? Soil health is crucial, without it we cannot function. Where do the witnesses feel we can improve that?

I think the idea of a visit would be a lovely idea and I would be very happy if the committee would consider it. I would love to see where this is going on, and that is something the Chairman might think about.