The Protein Aid Scheme is the most cost-effective programme for reducing carbon emissions from the farm sector, according to Department of Agriculture figures released to the ICMSA.

The Department data also reveals that the Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme is nearly twice as cost-effective as the Organic Farming Scheme in terms of abating emissions and almost six times more cost-effective than the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme.

The figures indicate that the Protein Aid Scheme will abate 150,000t between 2023 and 2027 at a cost of €35m. This equates to a cost of €233/t of CO2.

The cost per tonne of CO2 abated by the Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme was €417, while the corresponding figure for the Organic Farming Scheme was €753/t.

The Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme was the least cost effective of the various schemes listed in terms of carbon abatement, with a figure of €2,600/t.

The eco-scheme element of farmers’ direct payments also scored poorly in terms of cost effectiveness for CO2 abatement, at €2,281/t.

ICMSA president Pat McCormack said the Department figures proved that the “demonstrably underfunded” Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme had real potential to reduce emissions proportionate to overall spending.

“The Department has released the abatement potential of the six relevant schemes, as expressed in metric tonnes of carbon set against the Department’s funding of each scheme. It was notable that they didn’t calculate the cost of each abated metric tonne of carbon under each scheme heading – but ICMSA did and the results are extremely interesting,” McCormack explained.

“The figures should – you’d hope – clinch the arguments that we in ICMSA have been making for nearly three years – a reasonably funded dairy calf-to-beef scheme is demonstrably the cheapest way to get meaningful emissions abatement on a cost-per-tonne basis,” he added.

“There’s a real income option there for farmers and it’s proven to be by far the best option for abating emissions on a euro-per-tonne basis,” the ICMSA leader said.