Mr. Thomas Duffy:

We will all be glad to know that Mr. Dillon did not sustain an injury. He is a little shaken after the accident.

I wish everyone a good evening. Macra na Feirme welcomes the opportunity to represent to the joint committee the views of young trained farmers on the complicated issue of climate change. I am vice-chairperson of Macra na Feirme's national agricultural affairs committee and joined by Ms Jennifer Keegan, staff member in our agricultural affairs section. Since our presentation and Mr. Keane's address many similar issues, I will try to move across them, but a number of key issues have still not been covered.

Young farmers are acutely aware of our interdependence with the natural environment. They are establishing their farm businesses in the context of Ireland as a world leader in the area of sustainable auditing and carbon footprinting under the Origin Green programme. The targets set in Food Harvest 2020 and Food Wise 2025 shape the future of agriculture in terms of production levels and the environment. Macra na Feirme believes many of the targets within the plans can be met by focusing resources and supports in order to achieve greater efficiency at farm level, resulting in a win-win for both farmers and the environment.

The multifunctional role and multiplier effect of farming mean that, with food production and as the Environmental Protection Agency stated in 2016, farmers and farming can provide valuable ecosystem services for society such as safe and clean water, the regulation of nutrient cycles, the control of disease, crop pollination and enhancement of biodiversity, as well as cultural, spiritual and recreational benefits.

Farmers are the custodians of the countryside - in essence, the real environmentalists. While the historic Paris Agreement recognises the effort to limit global temperature increases to less than 2o and pursue a target of 1.5o, it must be achieved in a manner that will not threaten food production and, thus, the sustainability of farmers. Vitally, when discussing the contribution agriculture makes to total Irish greenhouse gas emissions, it should be remembered that Ireland has a very small cohort of industrial contributors of emissions compared with the rest of Europe, therefore disproportionately exaggerating agriculture's output.

Numerous issues have been identified by Macra na Feirme. Unfortunately, farmers have often viewed the greenhouse gas reduction policies in various EU and national strategies as a threat. In their view, emission reduction targets were set without taking into account the technical capacity of the sector to reduce emissions. It, therefore, appeared that emission reductions could only be achieved by reducing their farming activity, which would impact negatively on their livelihoods. This type of messaging is incorrect and needs to be stopped. The farm advisory service, the knowledge transfer scheme, the beef data and genomics programme, BDGP, the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, and so on have all helped to encourage farmers in a positive way and benefited emission reduction levels. Education, training and innovative industry projects have also played a significant role. Under Skillsnet, for example, Macra na Feirme runs a successful young beef farmer sustainability programme that focuses on many of the farm practices that contribute positively to addressing climate change.

Solutions have been identified for the climate change issues affecting the sector. Irish agriculture is exploring and developing proactive approaches to decreasing climate change impacts. They include feeding strategies that maximise the efficiency of grass-based systems such as the extension of grazing and the inclusion of clover; ICT in agriculture to aid the development of sustainable intensification; improvements to animal health and welfare; and sustainable land management that contributes to climate change mitigation and the sustainable management of soil and forest carbon sinks.

In terms of the Common Agricultural Policy, Macra na Feirme favours a move towards a combination of results-based and management-based payments as part of an environmental and climate measure. Results-based payments have many benefits, including directly linking payments with outcomes, reaching more specific goals and creating a common goal between farmers and environmentalists or conservationists. It would be beneficial if future CAP measures were to focus more on outcomes than being input driven and thus rewarded productive and lower greenhouse gas-intensive farms.

The BDGP is an example of a measure that is directly targeted at the climate emissions of beef farms. Its objective is to lower the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions by improving the quality and efficiency of the national beef herd by aiming to achieve a 4.5% greater carbon efficiency level per animal by 2020. The BDGP not only improves the environmental sustainability of beef production, it also brings economic benefits directly to the farmer.

Another example is the carbon navigator tool which helps to reduce carbon emissions per unit of output. To date, three Bord Bia quality assurance schemes have incorporated sustainability criteria, each of which has received accreditation from the Irish National Accreditation Board, INAB, and aids with the quality and accuracy of the information inputted, which gives a better picture of greenhouse gas emissions at farm level.

Knowledge transfer has a significant role to play in peer to peer learning among farmers as regards how to achieve win-win solutions in terms of farm efficiency and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Within the dairy knowledge transfer programme, a focus on animal health and management, profitability and financial management, grassland management plans, CellCheck farmer workshops, the carbon navigator and a breeding plan are beneficial in achieving greenhouse gas reductions on farms. When farmers achieve improvements under these elements, it means that their production becomes more carbon efficient. The carbon navigator is a key tool in informing farmers of their performance and indicating changes that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lead to improved outcomes.

Another example is the low-emissions slurry spreading scheme under TAMS, which is an important measure in seeking to reduce ammonia emissions directly. The tillage capital investment scheme will also contribute to reducing emissions, as it supports innovative technologies such as GPS to improve the accuracy of fertiliser spreaders and steering controls.

Schemes should aim to improve grass growth and utilisation potential nationally, given that only 10% of farms have optimum pH, phosphorus and potash levels in soils and only 50% of farms are reaching their grass growth potential. Macra na Feirme proposes a grazing infrastructure scheme under TAMS to aid farmers in utilising more grass. All of these schemes would only further benefit from Ireland becoming a climate change mitigation leader.

Supporting and resourcing the provision of anaerobic digestion in a strategic manner need further consideration. Using agricultural products such as slurry and silage, both grass and maize, can produce biogas in a renewable capacity, with the added benefit of producing good quality fertiliser from the digestate in a lower carbon producing manner. The products going into the anaerobic digestion chambers should originate from animal waste, with supplementation by energy crops, when required.

External to the farm gate, Macra na Feirme encourages further research into the manufacturing process of fertilisers associated with nitrous oxide emissions in an effort to yield more innovative products such as protected urea which has been shown to decrease nitrous oxide emissions compared with more mainstream fertilisers that improve nutrient efficiency.

Young farmers are the new environmentalists who are ready to take on the challenge of climate change through innovations and farm initiatives that benefit both farmers and the climate change agenda. Research has shown that both methane and nitrous oxide emissions can be reduced through a range of targeted innovations such as soil and grassland management, animal genetics, breeding and technology. Continued support of these practical initiatives through policy and financial instruments such as the CAP and the national budget is paramount for our large industry to prosper and add value to farmers and the economy.