Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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There is a policy conflict that arises regularly and which raises heads, namely, the conflict between the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the need to produce enough food to feed the people of the world. That tension will always exist. Companies such as Glanbia or Kerry Foods, which are major exporters from this island, are now demanding certain practices on the part of agricultural producers to meet the market demand for sustainable production methodologies. They are voting with their feet in regard to how they will respond to the growing need for additional food and the manner in which the manufacturing and production processes will work towards reaching targets, such as the Food Harvest 2020 targets. The share of the Common Agricultural Policy has now enshrined for the first time an increased amount of consideration for environmental objectives. I would have believed a little more would have been appreciated but what I describe indicates the new consciousness of the new cross-departmental role in the areas of agriculture and environmental protection. It is a question of having more integration of economic and environmental considerations in achieving our national objectives on employment, food security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

It has dawned on our food-producing companies, because of market requirements, that sustainable development, sustainable means of production and cultural changes in agricultural production methodologies that must be implemented at farm level comprise a welcome step towards meeting the objectives. By 2020, we will require producers to be more ambitious in meeting many more of the objectives in order to ensure we have carbon neutrality in agriculture. After all, we have a very efficient agriculture system in terms of carbon production but we might not always achieve the necessary reductions in carbon emissions that we would like.

I am conscious of the challenge facing the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide the sectorial roadmap to achieve the 2020 objectives.