Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has told the Irish Farmers Journal that he is firmly committed to delivering the ambitious and challenging targets set out in the Government’s recently published Climate Action Plan.

“My Department is currently developing an environmental sustainability roadmap for the agri-food sector to ensure that the future development of agriculture and the land-use sector, including forestry, will be built upon and contribute fairly to Ireland’s climate and energy targets. Meanwhile, my Department continues to review options that will enable our farmers to transition to a low-carbon economy,” the minister said.

“The Teagasc report ‘An Analysis of Abatement Potential of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Irish Agriculture 2021-2030’ is key to informing the type of measures we need to implement to continue to reduce the carbon footprint of the sector.

“My objective is to focus on driving down the emissions intensity of Irish production through the deployment of innovative and efficient practices at farm level, combined with the practical application of emerging scientific knowledge,” he said.

“I remain ambitious for the agri-food sector. We know farmers and processors are innovative and will work together to find solutions to these challenges. However, its development is about becoming better rather than bigger, focusing on adding value to every unit of production, increasing the output and value of every animal.

“It is also an evolving picture, which will be monitored and will change over time, incorporating new mitigation tools that will help us to manage methane emissions while continuing to be ambitious for our agri-food industry,” he said.

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