Mr. John Carroll:

ICOS has worked closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and other stakeholders to deliver on our commitments to improve water quality and reduce emissions of harmful greenhouse gases and ammonia. Our support is illustrated by the support of co-ops for a range of sustainability initiatives and programmes, such as the agricultural sustainability and support advisory programme, ASSAP, the signpost farm programme, joint Teagasc programmes and individual co-op programmes and incentives.

We recognise the development of the fertiliser register as a key measure in delivering on the above commitments as well as the commitments under Ag Climatise and Food Vision to reduce substantially the usage of chemical nitrogen and to make a significant switch to using protected urea, alongside improvements in soil fertility, clover and multispecies sward incorporation and precision use of slurry and low-emission spreading equipment. To this end, we and our members have participated in the Department’s consultative working group on the fertiliser register over the past number of months. While there have been and continue to be technical concerns regarding software systems and other practical matters, the most substantive issue with the current proposal for a register is the acknowledgement by the Department that the register will only apply to purchases of fertiliser made within the State.

What the industry, the Department and stakeholders need is a seamless system, which will capture all the use of fertiliser within the State. The ongoing capacity for farmers to purchase fertilisers from outside the State is an enormous black hole in the current plans for a register. It would be extraordinarily naive to assume, given examples from other products, such as silage plastic and smoky coal, that similar loopholes will not be taken advantage of in this scenario. We acknowledge the efforts of the Department to seek an all-island approach and we appreciate the sensitivities at play. However, the lack of any clear timelines for a solution is very worrying.

ICOS and our members as well as stakeholders in the fertiliser supply chain are working with the Department to support the development of a fit-for-purpose register. This process has not yet concluded, especially the full development of the IT system. As such, it may be premature to comment on some of the technical aspects. However, it is vital that the current IT systems in each co-op will work seamlessly with the Department’s new register to ensure there is no unnecessary bureaucracy or inefficiency at co-op level when it comes to selling fertiliser. There needs to be a significant communications campaign to inform farmers of what will be needed to ensure compliance with the new register, including the recording of closing and opening stocks for each year. Farmers who are not proficient in IT skills will need support in this regard.

The development of a fit-for-purpose fertiliser register will be a key tool for the Department and industry to support farmers in making the right decisions in respect of our environmental commitments. The full sharing of information between the Department and co-ops will be important in the implementation of the types of co-op sustainability programmes required by the marketplace and the Department. ICOS supports the development of a register. However, the current anomaly with respect to Northern Ireland is of great concern and must be addressed.