Mr. Bill Callanan:

I thank the members of the committee for the invitation and opportunity to discuss the critical challenge that is meeting the 2026-30 climate change target and the potential solutions to ensure sustainable progress.

For agriculture, the 25% sectoral emission ceiling is a hugely challenging target. Agriculture has long been an important and integral part of Ireland's economic, social and cultural history, even beyond its critical role in food production. Indeed, the special economic and social role of agriculture is recognised in Ireland's Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021.

Climate change is already impacting agriculture in Ireland, with the increased frequency of extreme weather events, and our farmers, more than most, are working together with nature and appreciate the need to address emissions and to build resilience into our food system. The Environmental Protection Agency data sets out that, in 2024, agriculture reduced its emissions by 1.7%, which built on a 4.8% reduction in 2023. This is the third year in a row to see emissions reductions from the sector and these figures reflect the efforts farmers are putting in on the ground, with a strong focus on the measures outlined in the agricultural chapter of Ireland's climate action plan. This includes improving the genetic quality of our herd, adopting more sustainable practices to fertilise land and the adoption of new technologies to mitigate emissions.

Coupled with these measures, the climate action plan focuses on creating diversification opportunities for Irish farmers. Agriculture has made significant progress in several areas, for example, in reducing fertiliser usage and changing fertiliser type, with current usage rates being significantly lower than in 2018. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has put in place a number of schemes aimed at embedding these reductions in the system, including support for soil sampling and the establishment of nitrogen-fixing multispecies swards, red clover and protein crops.

Targeted breeding strategies will play an important role in supporting the sector in meeting its climate targets. The Department is supporting improved animal breeding through the suckler carbon efficiency programme and national genotyping programme. The suckler carbon efficiency programme is designed specifically to improve the environmental sustainability and genetic merit of the suckler herd, with an overall allocation to this scheme of €256 million. The national genotyping programme is a hugely ambitious and world-first voluntary genotyping programme for both dairy and beef herd owners.

In relation to diversification, the development of the organic sector has been a significant success over the last number of years. The latest tranche of the organic farming scheme means that there are now approximately 5,500 organic farmers in Ireland farming an estimated 248,000 ha. The 2024 national biomethane strategy highlighted opportunities for farmers to diversify into production of feedstocks, creating a new value stream for animal manures and forage, as well as highlighting the contribution to decarbonising Ireland’s energy system. To support the development of the sector, a biomethane capital grant scheme, resourced from the EU’s REPowerEU fund, was launched in August 2024. However, it must be noted that the sector is at an early stage of development and, as such, time is needed before we can expect a direct impact on the achievement of our energy and climate targets.

There are barriers that must be overcome if the sector is to achieve its 2026-30 climate change targets. For instance, mitigation technologies such as feed additives or slurry amendments, while available, are pre-commercialisation in many cases and costly to implement. Not all mitigation technologies have production efficiency benefits and may represent a cost to farmers. It should also be noted that, when adding new technologies to our list of mitigation tools, food safety is paramount and it takes time to achieve regulatory approval while ensuring food safety standards are met. The recent social media storm around feed additives demonstrates that cultural acceptance of these technologies cannot be taken for granted in our export-oriented sector.

That said, technological advancement is key to achieving climate targets in the sector and the Department continues to significantly invest in agri-climate research and innovation. Since 2020, the Department has provided over €48 million in climate-related agricultural research and innovation funding through both national and international research calls. Uptake of mitigation measures varies significantly across different farms and farm types. Through the signpost farms programme, the Department has supported Teagasc in the development of a network of over 120 demonstration farms aimed at showcasing science-based technologies and how they can be practically implemented on the ground. The Department has also supported the development of the AgNav platform, an online sustainability tool that facilitates a whole-farm sustainability assessment and counting of carbon emissions and removals.

In conclusion, I would like to thank the members of the committee once again for allowing me to highlight the key challenges within the agricultural sector that may prevent Ireland from meeting its 2026-30 climate change targets and the potential solutions to ensure we continue to make sustainable progress.