Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 11 June 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence

Dóchas Pre-Budget Submission: Discussion

Ms Karol Balfe:

I would add one thing on agriculture.

We have to be careful what type of agricultural partnership we are looking at. Industrial agriculture is one of the problems we are facing that is putting pressure on food security. Typically, this is when we are talking about where there are monocrops, land grabs and the displacing of small-holder farmers. Therefore, it has to be an agricultural partnership that supports the type of sustainable small-scale farming that is typically led by women. The nature of that agriculture really makes a huge difference.