Opportunities as well as challenges for farmers in Agri-Food Strategy 2030
On 18th April last, the Department of Agriculture put its draft Agri-Food Strategy 2030 (AFS 2030) out for public consultation, closing 15th June 2021.
The Strategy has been drawn up over the last year by a committee of stakeholders under the Chairmanship of Tom Arnold. As well as committing the sector to climate neutrality by 2050, it sets out quantified targets to cut emissions, to improve biodiversity, animal welfare, ensure the economic viability and wellbeing of producers and the competitiveness of the sector, and enhance the diets and health of consumers.
While this may feel like the latest in an avalanche of new environmental and climate plans, legislation, strategies and roadmaps over the last 12 months, it reflects an international and national direction of travel: agriculture is a major part of the solution in fighting climate change and environmental challenges in Ireland. But crucially, it also addresses the economic and social aspects of agriculture and food sustainability.
Importantly, the Strategy also states “the core of Ireland’s agri-food output will continue to be grass-based livestock production, wherein lies Ireland’s natural competitive advantage”.
Stable cattle numbers underpin the Strategy
The Strategy adopts the measures outlined under the AgClimatise Roadmap, published earlier this year, and it is worth remembering that this document states that an increase in cattle numbers will jeopardise Ireland’s ability to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
AFS 2030 does not clarify the relative roles of the dairy and beef sectors in achieving this balance, but flags that further work is to be done on this by this time next year. Watch this space!
So, what’s in the Strategy?
AFS 2030 starts with a strong mission statement for the sector: “Ireland will become a world leader in Sustainable Food Systems over the next decade”. It argues that Ireland’s international competitive edge will lie in being able to prove that it meets the highest standards of sustainability in all its forms.
It sets out four high level missions, with quantified goals for each mission — summarised below — and a set of actions to deliver on each goal. The last chapter in the strategy is about implementation, though much of this awaits the setting of carbon budgets and ceilings for agriculture under the Climate Action Bill by the Climate Change Advisory Council in June. See last month’s newsletter on this topic.
Mission 1: A climate smart, environmentally sustainable agri-food sector;
- Carbon neutrality by 2050;
- By 2030:
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- Minimum Biogenic methane reduction of 10%
- Reduce ammonia emissions below 107,500 t (from around 120,000t in 2018)
- Reduce nutrient loss to water by 50%
- 10% of farmed area for biodiversity across all farms
- Increased afforestation and doubling of sustainable biomass production from forests by 2035
- 30% protected marine areas
- Minimum 7.5% agricultural area under organic production
- Halve per capita food waste
- Strengthen Origin Green, with strong metrics and evidence
Mission 2: Viable and resilient primary producers with enhanced well being;
- Higher value add, sector integration, diversification of activity and incomes
- Improved economic performance based on indicators in NFS (National Farm Survey) for farmers and BIM (Bord Iascaigh Mhara) for fishers
- Strong, functioning collaborative producer organisations
- Increased tillage, horticulture, organic and agro-forestry production
- Fairer distribution of value along the chain, recognition of higher cost of sustainability
- Better market transparency, legislation on Unfair Trading Practices, National Food Ombudsman
- Better social sustainability, wellbeing, health and safety, young farmers, diversity
- Supports, mandatory H&S training, measure performance through NFS indicators
Mission 3: Food that is safe, nutritious, appealing, trusted and valued at home and on export;
- Coherence of food, health and nutrition policies at national, EU and global levels
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- National co-ordination of policies
- Better labelling and reformulation for healthier diets
- Build consumer trust with evidence of safe and ethical production methods
- Create added value through market insight, innovation, support food sector and develop markets at home and abroad
- Develop food & drink value added and new markets to reach €21bn export by 2030
Mission 4: An innovative, competitive and resilient sector, driven by technology and talent.
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- Implementation of recommendations of the High Level Innovation Team (set up for Food Wise 2025)
- Private R&D to reach 1% of turnover by 2025
- Improved competitiveness and resilience along the food chain
- Supportive public policy incl. supports and access to finance, focus on competitiveness issues specific to agri food
- Attraction and nurturing of diverse talent
- Strategy for agrifood sector on education, skills and talent attraction and retention
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The “Food Systems” approach is a major change
The two immediate predecessors of AFS 2030, Food Harvest 2020 and Food Wise 2025, set out targets for output, export value and job growth. Neither put enough focus on environmental and climate sustainability, nor said very much at all about the need for economic sustainability of farmers.
AFS 2030 is based on the Food Systems approach promoted by the United Nation to help achieve many of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which will dominate the debate on global food policy this year in advance of the UN Food Systems Summit in New York next September.
AFS 2030 explains: “a sustainable Food System is profitable throughout (economic sustainability), has broad based benefits for society (social sustainability) and has a positive or neutral impact on the natural environment (environmental sustainability).”
More recognition for farmers’ economic sustainability and contribution
While clearly demanding more climate and environmental action, this more nuanced approach to agri-food policy recognises that farmers play essential economic and social roles in rural areas, and that they must be remunerated fairly, not just for food production, but also for public goods, including the sequestration of carbon. It recognises the importance of extending the concept of “Just Transition” to agriculture.
Under its first goal, AFS 2030 confirms the rolling out of a “Carbon Farming” pilot scheme mooted in Ag-Climatise. This will involve the measurement through the SignPost Farm Programme of the contribution by farmers to carbon sequestration to value and reward it. The Strategy also acknowledges the specificity of biogenic methane, and identifies innovation, research, and international collaboration – including with New Zealand – as necessary to reduce emissions.
Under its second goal, the Strategy focuses on social sustainability, including the necessity to strengthen regional and rural development, in which it clearly includes the importance of the economic sustainability of farming.
AFS 2030 also advocates under its third goal the fairer distribution of value along the chain, and the co-ordination of policies relating to food, nutrition, agriculture and health.
With the national implementation of the EU Unfair Trading Practices Directive last month, and the upcoming nomination of a Food Ombudsman, AFS 2030 could be the opportunity to create economic sustainability obligations on the food chain, as has been done in France through the Etats Generaux de l’Alimentation or EGAlim law.
Support for local production, short distribution circuits and organic farming largely aimed at local consumers are important elements in the logic of the food systems approach. While there is undoubtedly a place for this type of agriculture in Ireland, it is not relevant to our historically export oriented livestock agriculture, and AFS 2030 rightly stresses this point. However, it must defend Ireland’s role in potentially reducing carbon leakage by producing quality food for export in a more sustainable fashion than other global regions can.
Food systems are everyone’s business
The global debate on climate and the environment, and the need to improve the sustainability of our societies and our health systems are vital to all citizens. Therefore food policy development at national and global level engages public consultations beyond professional representative organisations and industry interests. It rightly gives a major say to the public — consumers, taxpayers, voters — including environmental activists who would not have influenced agricultural and food policy in the past. This is an adjustment the agricultural sector has to accept, but the respect must be mutual.
It is very disappointing that the Environmental Pillar not only withdrew from the Agri-Food Strategy process, but actually produced their own document in competition, which startlingly recommends, among other measures, a rapid reversal of the dairy expansion back to 2011 levels, incentives for beef farmers to reduce their livestock numbers, and the abolition of Origin Green.
The stakes are too high, and the urgency too great, for the agri-community and environmental activists to waste time in mutual bashing which breeds public confusion and mistrust. Education is the answer: a recent consultation on the new REAP results-based environmental scheme has shown farmers are hungry to learn more about the environment. A few farm walks for environmental NGOs would not go astray, either.
Both farming and environmental representatives must return promptly to the table to get on with the implementation of Agri-Food Strategy 2030 to find the solutions which will make Ireland the world leader in sustainable food systems it absolutely can be.
© Catherine Lascurettes, Cúl Dara Consultancy
