Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

My Department, my ministerial colleagues and I will be doing everything possible to encourage more people to increase their tillage and cereal production rates. There is also a need to think laterally in respect of this matter. A considerable amount of cereal produced is required for both human and animal consumption. The development of animal breeds that are able to thrive on a diet which is more grass-based, thereby reducing feed inputs, is another route we must take in order to insulate ourselves from the wider global reality of increasing grain prices. There is a need to increase grain production and also to deal with other issues.

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