Mr. Richard Kennedy:

I thank the Vice Chairman and I hope that I will not take up the full ten minutes. I thank the joint committee for the opportunity to address it on the subject of exploring technologies and opportunities that may exist in the effort to reduce emissions in the agriculture sector.

With the world population set to reach 10 billion by 2050, and a new European Green Deal, we are facing an enormous challenge to feed a growing population, while dramatically reducing the environmental impact of food production. This presents both challenges and opportunities for the agrifood sector on this island. By utilising new technologies and innovations, we can overcome the challenges we face and embrace the opportunities presented to us and indeed put Ireland the forefront of those.

I am the chief executive of Devenish. At Devenish, we have a track record of agrifood innovation. We continue to invest heavily in research and development to explore new solutions and technologies with the specific aim of reducing the environmental impact of the agriculture sector in the production of food.

To introduce Devenish, it is a research, development and innovation company. We are focused on developing solutions and technologies which ensure the most effective and efficient utilisation of nutrients in the production of food. A large part of our business is focused on developing and producing nutrients for inclusion in feed, which not only improves animal health and performance, but has the added benefit of boosting human health and environmental health. We term this concept: “One Health: from soil to society”. We take a collaborative approach and strategy, working in partnership with researchers, institutions and Government bodies, our customers and suppliers, throughout the whole food chain. We utilise practical research and development, making it commercially applicable in real time, to deliver sustainable food solutions in response to consumer demand for safe and nutritious food. We believe in a science-based approach to developing sustainable solutions for agriculture and food.

Through our “one health: from soil to society” strategy, we are looking at how we can positively influence human health and the environment through the provision of high quality, nutritious solutions, which is very much in line with Ireland’s strategy on food. Established in 1952, and acquired by the current management in 1997, we have grown the business from £5 million annual turnover and 23 employees in 1997, to an international company with over 500 direct employees and £228 million turnover.

Investing in that research and supplementing our manufacturing facilities across the UK, US, Turkey, Mexico and Uganda, we have invested in a range of performance or test houses and research farms, where farm trials are conducted to scientifically publishable standards. Every year, we make a significant investment in research and development to develop solutions to solve the challenges faced by the industry, both today and tomorrow. We have a team of over 40 PhDs and experts developing those products. We regularly collaborate with universities and external centres of excellence, including Queen’s University Belfast, University College Dublin, Harper Adams University, Wageningen University & Research, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, AFBI, and Teagasc.

In 2013, we established our global innovation centre and ruminant research farm at the Devenish lands at Dowth, County Meath. It is now an internationally recognised research farm dedicated to developing sustainable agriculture solutions and promoting human health through nutrition. It acts as a platform for public engagement, as well as being designated as an international lighthouse farm that is leading the way in sustainable food production by Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, one of the leading agricultural universities in the world.

Our research farm at Dowth has been a platform for unique collaborations with partners such as Teagasc, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, academic partners such as Wageningen, University College Dublin, Queen's University Belfast and AFBI. We have used it to showcase the research we are doing around climate smart farming, biodiversity, economics, and human health to farmers and industry groups. We have formed wider collaborations to explore solutions to climate change including partnering with Gas Networks Ireland and KPMG on Project Clover. We also recently signed a unique collaborative research initiative on climate action with the team at Teagasc, led by Professor Frank O'Mara. We have also used the platform to engage with the Government and recently hosted a joint ministerial visit with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, and the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Mr. Edwin Poots, MLA, alongside the Ulster Farmers Union and the Irish Farmers Association.

Our research at Dowth has focused on measuring, reporting and verification of improved farming practices. As part of this, we have developed a mitigation toolkit to help achieve carbon neutrality, including optimising soil nutrient flow; silvopasture or agroforestry trials; optimising animal nutrition; multispecies swards; and targeted planting of woody riparian strips. We believe that to avail of all the tools in the net-zero toolbox, farm businesses need to be benchmarked on net carbon and not simply gross emissions per kilogramme of meat. We see this as a significant opportunity for farmers and agriculture in Ireland.

In terms of developing new technologies and innovations, one of our key research projects at Dowth is the Heartland project, which was awarded €1.4 million from the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme. One of the key areas where we have been developing new technologies is to reduce emissions. This project has funded five PhD students to help build a farm management system that has a positive impact on the environment, meat quality and ultimately human health. The students investigate the effect that changing sward diversity on farms can have on soils, sward production, animal performance, meat quality, the environment, social impact and farm economics.

Through this research, we have found that multispecies legume-rich swards offer an opportunity to reduce fertiliser usage, especially nitrogen, on farms while also improving soil structure, reducing nitrogen run-off and improving animal performance and health and farm profitability. In studies at Dowth, we have reduced our nitrogen usage by 60% while still producing approximately 40% more dry matter herbage. As well as improved animal performance, there are improvements in biodiversity, soil structure and water infiltration. It is a win-win all round. Helping farmers to measure and manage emissions is key to our strategy. As well as products and practices that help reduce carbon emissions, we also help farmers assess their carbon balance and plan a route to net zero and beyond. To be able to reduce emissions, farm businesses first need to have an accurate understanding of what their current emissions are, and then be able to effectively measure and manage them. Over the past two years, we have been working in collaboration with Accenture to develop a new sustainable farming initiative that helps to support farmers to continue to produce nutritious meat and milk while improving their carbon balance. By accurately measuring on-farm carbon emissions and, uniquely, carbon sequestration, it is estimated that if applied across the country, Agrinewal will enable more than 5 million tonnes of carbon to be sequestered by 2030. This will create new value for farmers across the island of Ireland, and substantially accelerate the achievement of climate goals while also improving biodiversity, water quality and overall farm resilience and profitability. Agrinewal provides a carbon balance sheet and identifies actions which will help the wider agricultural sector reach net-zero carbon emissions and beyond, boosting the environmental credentials for producers, processors and at every point on the food chain. As the old saying goes: "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it". Therefore, ensuring that farmers are encouraged and incentivised to establish their baselines and then supported to avail of all the tools in the net-zero mitigation toolbox is key to the future of Irish farming.