EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 Farm to Fork Strategy The Farm to Fork Strategy is an opportunity to improve the environment that agriculture depends on. The Farm to Fork Strategy (see Figure 13.4) aims to make food systems fair, healthy and environmentally friendly (EC, 2020b). It identified the need for an accelerated transition to more sustainable food systems, which among other objectives should have a neutral or positive environmental impact, help to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts and reverse the loss of biodiversity. A legislative framework will be proposed to support the implementation of the strategy and the development of sustainable food policy. Significantly, under the strategy the European Commission will take action on two major fronts. First, a target to reduce nutrient losses by at least 50 per cent, while ensuring no deterioration in soil fertility, will aim to reduce synthetic fertiliser use by at least 20 per cent by 2030. Second, targets will be implemented to reduce the overall use of chemical pesticides by 50 per cent and the use of more hazardous pesticides by 50 per cent by 2030. Figure 13.4  Farm to Fork (European Commission, 2020b) Nitrates Action Programme and Derogation Review Intensively stocked livestock farms with Nitrates Directive derogations will be required to further improve efficiencies and reduce their environmental footprint across a range of issues. The Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) 8 aims to protect water quality by reducing pollution from agricultural sources and promoting the use of good agricultural practice. It forms an integral part of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) and is one of the key instruments in the protection of waters against pollution from agricultural practices. All EU Member States are required to prepare Nitrates Action Programmes that outline the rules for the management of livestock manures and fertilisers and their application to soil. Ireland’s Fourth Nitrates Action Programme runs from 2018 to 2021; this will be reviewed and will form the basis for its Fifth Nitrates Action Programme. Ireland has taken an approach whereby the whole national territory is defined as a nutrient- sensitive area under the Nitrates Directive. Furthermore, Ireland also uses the national implementation of the Directive to control phosphorus as well as nitrogen. Phosphorus is a key driver of freshwater eutrophication. Under the programme there is a closed period when land spreading of manure and fertiliser is prohibited, and minimum manure storage requirements are set for different geographical zones nationally and legal limits are established for nutrient use. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is the lead authority for the European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations (S.I. No. 605 of 2017). The DAFM implements and operates the nitrates derogation (S.I. No. 65 of 2018), including inspections of participant farms and imposition of penalties for non-compliance. Ireland’s nitrates derogation allows farmers to farm at higher stocking rates, above 170 kg of livestock manure nitrogen/ hectare, subject to additional conditions designed to protect the environment. The derogation is seen as an important facility for more intensive farmers and almost 7000 intensively stocked farms availed of the derogation in 2018. It is estimated that these 7000 farms represent 11 per cent of the farmed area and 20 per cent of bovine livestock. A further 5000 farms representing 13 per cent of bovine livestock exceed the 170 kg of livestock manure nitrogen/hectare limit but these farms either export manure or take other actions to comply with the limit. It is recognised that compliance of a higher standard is required from these farmers to ensure that a greater level of environmental efficiency is achieved. 8 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/ PDF/?uri=CELEX:31991L0676&from=EN 340