Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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3. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he plans to provide for an audit of the carbon storage and capture of each farm in the State in order to allow farmers to be rewarded for good practice and improvements into the future. [60437/21]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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There has been much talk about the role of agriculture in respect of our climate action targets. The most common question farmers ask is what this will mean for them. It would be useful if it were possible to carry out a full audit of the carbon storage and capture that is taking place on every farm in order to reward farmers who are involved in good practices and to encourage others to follow suit. Is that something the Minister intends to pursue?

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for a very pertinent and relevant question.

As part of the commitments set out in the climate action plan 2021, we are exploring the development of a carbon farming model with the potential for trading and which rewards farmers for emissions reductions and removals, including through potential private sector investment. Such an approach will require the establishment of baseline data, auditing, the development of voluntary carbon codes, leveraging of private financing through public-private partnerships and putting in place governance structures. The development of a carbon farming model of this nature would require the establishment of baselines to ensure that measures taken on farms deliver the additionality required and that farmers are recognised and rewarded for the improvements they have made.

I have provided funding for initiatives such as the establishment of the national agricultural soil carbon observatory, the pilot soil sampling programme and the farm environmental scheme, along with a number of European innovation partnership, EIP, research projects, to provide the required data for the development of future policy options in this area. The approach I am taking is in line with the EU’s policy direction and I will look forward to further direction in the Commission’s communication on sustainable carbon cycles, which is due on 14 December.

Carbon farming is an area that will become a crucial part of the future of farming in this country. This will be an opportunity for farmers to derive a new income stream for their farm and I will drive this very exciting opportunity forward at every turn. I look forward to engagement, co-operation and support across the House for something that can be of tremendous benefit to farmers over the years ahead, as well as being important for our emissions reduction targets.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine held a number of informative hearings on these issues because it is an area in which we all will admit that we are still learning. I asked this specific question regarding the baseline studies as to whether it is possible to carry out a farm-by-farm analysis and audit so each farmer would have a clear view of what sequestration, storage and emission is taking place on his or her farm and the farmer can then trade or be rewarded for improvements in that regard. Essentially, the response from the Department's officials and Teagasc was that this would prove to be incredibly difficult and challenging. We accept that. The Devenish Global Innovation Centre in County Meath indicated that it was very doable if there was the political will.

The value of having something like this can be seen. The issue we need to overcome is the viability of being able to do it in the short term. Farmers are today carrying out measures to reduce emissions, but we need to ensure that is recognised, not only this year but in years to come.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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There are two aspects to this, one of which is developing the tools to be able to measure additional sequestration. Teagasc is doing significant research work on how to assess that. I have provided it with the funding to do that. Flux towers across the country are assessing in detail what is happening at farm level, what is going into the soil, what is coming out of it, and developing a toolkit to be able to implement it on a more widespread basis.

Along the lines of what the Deputy is suggesting, I announced the soil sampling scheme some weeks ago. I have invested €10 million in the scheme this year and it will continue next year. That is about having an assessment at farm level to establish the baselines for carbon content in soil and organic matter in soil. It is important for that to happen on all farms in the coming years. Once we have the toolkit to measure how additional sequestration is captured, we can develop the monetisation of that carbon sequestration and provide a return to farmers for it. It is important work with great potential and something we are developing.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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One of the great travesties of Irish farming, particularly when we are talking about climate action, is that those farms which are richest in biodiversity, which are doing most on carbon sequestration and which are causing least pollution are also the least profitable farms in the State. We need to ensure we do not repeat our mistakes. I have lost count of the number of people who have pointed out to me things which they were paid to do on their farms and which now they are being paid to undo. The important work farmers are carrying out today, whether that be in afforestation, moving to organics, improving hedgerows, planting trees or reducing nitrate inputs, needs to be recognised for a long time to come. However, we cannot reward something if we cannot measure it. I ask the Minister to prioritise this area to ensure all farmers, those who are carbon neutral - there are some - and those whose emissions are higher than they need to be, are audited and those who change practice for the better are rewarded.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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It is important that farms already making a significant contribution to carbon sequestration and biodiversity are recognised and rewarded. The CAP plan this time around is structured to have eco schemes to reward existing good practice. For example, the 7% of space for nature within Pillar 1 in the eco schemes already recognises good practice. Farms that use less chemical nitrogen are also recognised in the eco schemes. Pillar 2 is about rewarding additional actions to build on that. We will have a blend and a balance - rewarding existing good practice and incentivising and monetising measures in the time ahead. The Deputy has made his views on the issue clear today. We can all agree on the importance of this matter over the time ahead.