It is now not possible for Irish agriculture to avoid the impact climate change will have on farms, director of Teagasc Frank O’Mara has said.

Speaking at a climate change adaptation conference held by Teagasc, O’Mara said the effect of climate change is already evident on farms.

“There is a realisation that adaptation to climate change is a part of our future.

“We have to accept the reality that we are probably already seeing climate change and we’re not going to reduce our emissions in time to avoid the impacts of climate change,” he said.

O’Mara added that extreme weather events are making farming increasingly difficult.

“I think in agriculture we are already experiencing those challenges, and while we can’t attribute any single weather event to climate change, we are seeing this increased frequency of intense rainfall events.

“We are seeing soil moisture deficits and droughts and prolonged winter conditions all becoming more frequent and making the job of farming more challenging,” he said.

Speaking on climate change mitigation, O’Mara said the Teagasc Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) shows “there is a technological way” to meet emissions reduction targets in farming and that reducing the national herd will not necessarily be needed.

“A lot of people think, ‘well, agriculture has to reduce its emissions so we’re going to see a big cull in the herd, aren’t we?’ That’s their perception, that the only way is to reduce numbers.

“It’s very important that we show there is a way through technology and through efficiency to reach those targets.

“Even if some of the technologies are still a little bit far away from application, we can see that they’re in the pipe line,” he said.