Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 17 November 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Agriculture: Discussion

Mr. Bill Callanan:

I cannot answer that. At the outset through my evidence to the committee I identified that, in my view, if you look at carbon neutrality at a European level, there is a huge role for support for agriculture for the ecosystem services including from carbon removal. I believe that passionately and strongly. If you look at corporate social responsibility by companies or the endorsement which has, I respectfully suggest, been strong under the woodland environment fund, there is an increasing expectation on industry to engage on this. I cannot see why farmers should not benefit from the creation of that. Agriculture, like everything else, deals with efficiency and some of these things almost require inefficiency at times.

Some of these things almost require inefficiency at times. We need to create a system where there is a reward for farmers and they can see the benefit crystallised economically for them.