Dr. Oliver Moore:

-----significant increase in the current plans. Group organic certification is now allowable and must be developed. Public procurement needs a mandated organic-specific percentage of supply increase. Processor competition, for which there is a real need, is lacking. A full suite of supports, covering production, research, advisory-extension services, processing, marketing and more, needs to be developed, as proposed in my submission to the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action last year. I ask members to refer to that for more detail.

In the Irish climate action Act, diversification's contribution to climate change targets is described as "TBD", or "to be decided". Therefore, work clearly needs to be done on diversification to complement what Teagasc is doing and it needs to be done with imagination. This is an opportunity. There are at least three areas under which to consider diversification. Diversifying farming practices and agricultural outputs being the first. Much was made in the SEA of “the right measure in the right place”. By extension, we need the right farming practice in the right region. Diversification may help in some environmentally stressed regions. How do we address numbers declining in tillage and horticulture? What level of mixed farming and local market fulfilment can be reached? How do we enable import substitution and emerging areas, such as hemp co-operatives, social farming and community-supported agriculture? Teagasc research shows that farmers are willing to engage in forestry as a form of diversification------