Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

270 Chapter 10: Environment and Agriculture Many of Ireland’s farms already display a high degree of vulnerability and may be particularly vulnerable to climate change directly and to the policy and market responses that will accompany it. Just over 25% of beef and sheep farms are economically viable; livestock rearing is often loss-making and dependent on direct payments (Buckley and Donnellan, 2023). This is in stark contrast to the 93% of dairy farms and 79% of tillage farms that are viable economically. For many beef and sheep farmers, forestry can generate higher returns per hectare than livestock rearing, while many extensive farmers already deliver an array of ecosystem services valued by society, yet they are not directly rewarded for doing so. There is an economic imperative to explore diversification options, safeguarding more efficient food production while ensuring that viable farms are handed down to the next generation. There are new opportunities emerging in the circular bioeconomy for the sector to use renewable biological resources to grow valuable materials, crops for bioenergy and food (see Chapter 15). There are ambitious plans, for example to produce biomethane from anaerobic digestion, which will require feedstocks from the agriculture sector. Nutrient-rich digestate will then be produced that can be reused on farm (see Chapter 12). A recent paper by the National Economic and Social Council recommended four key areas of action to support an effective, fair and inclusive transition in the agriculture and land use system. These include the need for (1) socially inclusive dialogue and participation, including with farmers, as the foundation for ensuring a fair process of transition; (2) a transition that is opportunity led, underpinned by a robust means of valuing and accounting for ecosystem services and natural capital; (3) fair, equitable and sustainable distribution of effort and cost sharing; and (4) coordinated action to govern the transition so that it can deliver real change in a balanced, inclusive and just manner (NESC, 2023).