Dr. Frank O'Mara:

I thank the Senator for his nice comments about our colleague, Mr. Christy Jones, who has recently retired. I have no doubt that he will be pleased to hear that. I had an email from him yesterday. He has been retired for five weeks and he is enjoying that very much but he is still keeping a good eye on us and on what we are doing.

The Senator has asked a significant question about the future of food production. It is a complex arena, as is the whole area in which agriculture works, because we have had so many competing demands on agriculture to provide answers for climate, to protect water quality, to restore biodiversity and to produce food. There are competing demands on agriculture. In the mix of all of that, we try to provide the knowledge and help to farmers to run their systems as efficiently, effectively and profitably as possible, and to deliver as much as food as possible, while meeting the targets under the climate agenda.

To take the point of the climate targets, we have a 25% target and our proposition in that space is that through technology, efficiency and system improvement we can go a long way, and maybe the whole way, to meeting that target without negatively impacting on food production. That is important because if the response to the climate targets is to reduce food production in every country, we will obviously have a major problem in global food production and food security. That is the challenge, and it is exercising us strongly.

Whether it is in the case of climate, water or biodiversity, we must try to accommodate the requirements to meet the targets there while still delivering food production. This is the challenge of our time. That is what we are busy doing at research and advisory levels. We are significantly increasing our resources devoted to the climate area both at research and advisory level. We will be launching the Teagasc climate strategy on 1 December, which will encapsulate that increased activity and how we can help the sector to respond. There is no doubt that it is a big challenge.

It is one facing not only Ireland, but many countries that are trying to grapple with the targets around environmental issues and food production and the continuing challenge around farm profitability, because it is a long-term tightening of incomes. Even the figures in the CAP schemes, when inflation is taken into account, involve a real reduction in support over time.

It is a big question but I suppose society is saying we now have many goals for agriculture to try to deal with, not only food production. That is the challenge being put to the agricultural sector and put to us to try to help it through it. We have a challenging road ahead to do all that.

I do not know whether any of my colleagues wish to add anything to that.