Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

259 Chapter 10: Environment and Agriculture Figure 10.8  The green architecture of the Common Agricultural Policy 2022–2027 as applied in Ireland Approx. €9.8 billion 2023-2027 Level of requirement and delivery of environmental ambition Area covered Farm Advisory and Knowledge Sharing Innovation EIPs Cross- cutting supports Voluntary for farmer Mandatory for farmer Pillar 1 Enhanced Baseline Conditionality (BISS) Pillar 1 Eco-Scheme (25% of Pillar 1 payments) Pillar 2 ACRES (General) Pillar 2 ACRES (Co- operation) EIP, European Innovation Partnership Source: James Moran, Atlantic Technical University, 2024 The Common Agricultural Policy The CAP is a system of subsidies and support programmes for agriculture funded from EU and national budgets. It was originally developed in 1962 as a partnership between agriculture and society, and between what was then European Economic Community and its Member States’ farmers. The main aims of the policy at that time were primarily to support farmers financially to deliver security of food supply for European citizens. Since 1992, the CAP has increased the focus on the use of these public funds to deliver environmental outcomes as well as food security. Current subsidies are conditional on achieving good agricultural and environmental conditions on a farm – three of the conditions explicitly relate to climate, biodiversity and general environmental policy objectives. Ireland’s current CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027 (DAFM, 2022b) includes the provision to support environmental protection and climate change action through the new green architecture (or structure of the funding support streams), with an emphasis on payments for results and performance (Figure 10.8). The total CAP budget allocation is €9.8 billion over 5 years, which includes significant national funding support of €2.3 billion to support rural development measures, including agri- environmental measures. The plan aims to achieve a higher level of climate and environment ambition through the new Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), a new eco-scheme, and significant growth in the organic farming sector. Measures to support the development of the arable sector, to protect wetlands and peatlands, and to further develop the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System will also be implemented. While the new green architecture of the CAP offers significant opportunities to raise the overall environmental performance of the agriculture sector, it is essential that measures introduced under the new CAP can show quantifiable and verifiable environmental gains. Agri-environmental measures need to be adapted and adequately targeted to a range of farm intensities and physical settings across the country to ensure their attractiveness and effectiveness for achieving the required outcomes. However, the new CAP alone will not provide all of the solutions to the growing pressures from agriculture on water, climate, air pollution and biodiversity. A whole-of-sector approach is required in which the whole industry (from livestock and land management to the food industry, agricultural education and government) is closely involved in establishing effective and accountable programmes and initiatives that will deliver on environmental targets and sustainability but also underpin on-farm efficiencies and market access. This challenge cannot be underestimated and will need collaboration right across the industry.