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Environment and the Economy
111
Nonetheless, a key component of
the strategy – that of increasing
milk production by 50% with the
removal of milk quotas – will pose
serious challenges to achieving this
environmental sustainability. As
outlined in Chapter 2, agriculture
is the single largest contributor to
Ireland’s overall GHG emissions,
accounting for over 30% of the
total. EPA emission projections
(2012b) are that emissions from
the agriculture sector will increase
by 7% by 2020 on current levels as
the removal of milk quota and the
impacts of expansion under the
Food
Harvest 2020
plan come into effect.
Ireland’s emissions profile is unique
among EU Member States, with
the highest national proportion
of agriculture emissions. This
presents particular challenges for
Ireland in meeting future GHG
emission reduction targets. Ireland’s
production systems are already at the
higher end of efficiencies in terms of
efficiency per unit production, which
highlights the challenges faced by
the sector to identify further cost-
effective measures to limit emissions.
For example, a recent EU study
has shown that using a full life-
cycle approach, Ireland’s extensive
grass-based systems produces the
lowest GHG emissions in the EU for
dairy animals and the fifth lowest
for beef. In addition, Bord Bia has
incorporated an assessment of
sustainability on 32,000 beef farms
into its Beef Quality Assurance
Scheme, which led to accreditation
by The Carbon Trust of a carbon
footprint calculation for Irish beef
production (DAFM, 2011).
The agriculture sector’s approach to
increasing production while limiting
the growth in emissions is based
on a ‘sustainable intensification’
model. This will include establishing
farming practices and production
methods that reflect the increasing
concern for maximising efficiency
and limiting emissions. While there
are clearly benefits to be derived
from, for example, optimising
nutrient management and livestock
management, such an approach is
unlikely to deliver the deep emission
reductions that are required to
reduce overall national emissions.
It is vital that the implementation of
Food Harvest 2020
be undertaken
in a manner that ensures that any
increases in GHG emissions from the
agriculture sector are addressed, and
do not overburden the other key
sectors, which would have to take
on further emission reductions to
make up for any shortfall from the
agriculture sector.
Similarly, in the area of water quality,
Ireland has international obligations
under the Water Framework Directive
and the Nitrates Directive. As
outlined in Chapter 4, agriculture is
one of the main sources of nitrates
in groundwaters and of nutrient
enrichment of surface waters. It
is important that the proposed
development of the agriculture
sector does not prevent Ireland from
meeting its international obligations.
DAFM, in collaboration with the
DECLG and the EPA, secured an
extension of the Nitrates derogation
to 2013, on foot of the satisfactory
outcome of the first Nitrate Action
Programme (NAP) and agreement on
an enhanced second NAP. However,
increasing milk production by 50%
by 2020 will potentially increase
total nitrogen generation from
bovine livestock by as much as 14%
between 2009 and 2020.
Map 8.1 shows that much of the
increase in nitrogen generation will
be concentrated in counties Limerick,
Cork, Tipperary, and Waterford. With
nitrogen and phosphate pollution
already a significant problem, the
expansion of the national dairy
herd could compound this issue.
The challenge for environmental
sustainability of
Food Harvest 2020
is
to ensure that nutrient management
practices will be sufficient to
prevent environmental damage to
water bodies and that significant
new mitigation measures will be
developed and implemented to
reduce emissions of GHGs.
Map 8.1
Nitrogen Concentration Projections under
Food Harvest 2020
Nitrogen per Hectare 2009
<= 0.02 tonnes
0.021 - 0.035 tonnes
0.0351 - 0.05 tonnes
0.051 - 0.075 tonnes
> 0.075 tonnes
Urban Area /
No Data Available
N
Ù
Nitrogen per Hectare 2020
<= 0.02 tonnes
0.021 - 0.045 tonnes
0.0451 - 0.07 tonnes
0.071 - 0.1 tonnes
> 0.1 tonnes
Urban Area /
No Data Available
N
Ù