Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. Going back to dairying and whether that produces the food developing countries need, many products come out of our dairy sector. There is no doubt the food is very nutritious and a very worthwhile part of a balanced diet. It is a strong part of our diet, but also something that can really add to nutrition in many parts of the world. For example, I was in Nigeria a few months ago and while it does not buy cheese from us it buys milk powders for general consumption in small plastic packs. That is the main dairy product we send out. It is bought in shops in powder form and then mixed with water and drunk as a staple drink by people. It is a very low-cost, nutritious product in that country and there is strong market for it there. Again, Nigeria is country that is not self-sufficient in food at the moment. It had a great agricultural tradition, but because of domestic management challenges and economic challenges a country that used to be a net exporter of food is now a net importer of food. It is a country with a population of 200 million and it is growing rapidly. It is expected to have 500 million people by 2050 and become one of the largest countries in the world. That population trajectory indicates a significant food demand. The dairy product going there is not what we are used to or would find especially palatable either, but it is something that is quite popular and very economically sought-after as a nutritious food product there. Obviously, right across the sector our objective is to maximise the value from what we do, but with milk and dairy production our grass-based system, when compared with the primarily grain-based system used in the vast majority of other countries, means we have lower costs and a more sustainable model in terms of how we produce it. It therefore has an important role not just in high value markets but also as an example in relation to African markets as milk powders.

On new measures in the climate action plan, we continue to engage with research organisations, especially Teagasc, which developed the first marginal abatement cost curve, MACC, that fed into our climate action plan. Teagasc recently published an updated MACC looking at potential options and opportunities for diversification and new measures. We continue to look to see what is possible, because we want to do as much as we can and as much as we can deliver upon. For example, the very rapidly evolving research around feed additives is one of the spaces that can make a difference there. Another one is the capacity around anaerobic digestion. The Cathaoirleach is correct we must balance and consider that. We have set out targets that could see 10% of our total national gas usage by 2030 delivered through farms through anaerobic digestion. That leads to alternative land use where farmers decide to do that because it will be profitable for them to do so. As we go forward we must, in our policy environment, see how we balance one against the other.

I have no doubt that, in the decades ahead, ensuring that there is food security internationally will be balanced against how land is used for energy.

The issue of fugitive gas emissions will have to be central. Any use of anaerobic digestion, AD, is going to have to be sustainable. To drive this, it is important that the feed crop be grown in a sustainable way by using natural, good, fertile and healthy soil for natural types of legume and other plants.