Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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935. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the supports that will be put in place to assist farmers with the challenges they will face in meeting the objectives of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021. [7491/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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In November 2021, the Climate Action Plan was published, setting out an ambitious reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for the agriculture sector of 22-30% by 2030 when compared with a 2018 baseline. The achievement of this target will take a whole of government, whole of sector approach.

The recently submitted Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) strategic programme (CSP) contains a number of measures that will support a transition to a more sustainable agriculture sector. A significantly updated Organic Farming scheme recently opened and this will be a key pillar of the new CSP. The CSP places significant emphasis on measures that will maintain grass productivity with reduced levels of chemical fertiliser use. These measures include an increased use of lime on farms, the use of clover and other multispecies swards and a greater uptake of low emission slurry spreading technology. Farmers will be supported in all of these important areas. In addition, a new suckler carbon efficiency scheme in the CSP will support the beef sector as it transitions to a model where animals are finished earlier, thus reducing lifetime methane levels.

My Department is also exploring the issue of carbon farming and the possibility of bringing an additional income stream into the sector. I am watching developments at the EU level closely as they develop their regulatory framework.

I have repeatedly indicated that the CSP and the associated public supports cannot drive all the necessary change. As indicated, a whole of sector approach is needed and industry will also play an important role in driving change at farm level. We have already seen the success of bonus milk payments for farmers adopting certain biodiversity measures on the farms. By working together, I remain confident in the sector's ability to achieve its climate targets without compromising food production.