Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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321. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to increase tillage production in the new Common Agricultural Policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44401/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The tillage sector plays a crucial role in Irish agriculture and is a sector I am passionate about and I am committed to. The tillage sector supports so many aspects of the wider agri sector by providing high quality grain to the animal feed industry and straw for feeding and bedding, while also making a significant contribution to the food and drinks sectors in the form of malting barley, milling wheat and oats for the breakfast cereals industry.  The sector contributed an estimated €430m at farm gate prices to overall agriculture output (€8.3bn) in 2020.

Food Vision 2030 identified the tillage sector as one of the most carbon efficient sectors of Irish agriculture and emphasised the importance of retaining and increasing the area under cultivation. 

Progress in development of the next CAP Strategic Plan is well under way and the Department has consulted widely. Most recently, a five-week public consultation on the draft interventions concluded on Friday 3 September. Over 1,000 submissions have been made during the public consultation process. These submissions, including those relating to the tillage sector, are under consideration and will be taken on board in the development of the plan. Discussions with key stakeholders will continue through bilateral engagements, and through the CAP Consultative Committee, where all key stakeholders are represented.

A statutory consultation on a draft environmental report for the CAP Strategic Plan will be held in November with the final plan due for submission in December in advance of the 1st January 2022 deadline. The plan will then be subject to an approval process with the Commission over a 6/8 month period.

All elements of the plan will be subject to review and scrutiny by the EU Commission in line with the relevant regulatory framework around the three general objectives of economic, environmental and social sustainability.

The CAP Strategic Plan will become operational on 1st January 2023.