Supporting Policy
By nature, agriculture is multifunctional. It produces goods and services that are not always monetised nor easily observed; some of those are desirable (such as producing food or providing habitats for wildlife), while others put pressure on the environment and natural resources (such as generating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions). Agricultural policy is characterised by multiple, complex, and sometimes conflicting, objectives, to guide agri-food development on a sustainable path and in accordance to our societal values and goals. Agricultural policy can help reconcile the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability in the food, agriculture, land use and rural development sectors.
Across Teagasc, we conduct coherent and objective research to provide the evidence base necessary for the development, implementation and evaluation of agricultural policy at national and European levels. To do so, we conduct studies both ex ante and ex post with various methods including scenario analysis, modelling, observational studies and qualitative investigation. Our methodogies combine bottom-up and top-down approaches based on survey data, farm accountancy or census data, spatial information, in-depth interviews and focus groups.
Our Supporting Policy theme priorities are
- Update the Marginal Abatement Cost Curve as new technologies are developed.
- Develop life cycle assessment models for all farming enterprises.
- Develop integrated digital sustainability decision support tools.
- Develop tools for the assessment and monitoring of biodiversity on farms.
- Contribute to the scientific debate around metrics associated with climate change and biodiversity assessment.
- Develop an integrated land-use and agriculture model(s) to facilitate the analysis of scenarios to enhance biodiversity and achieve climate neutrality 2050.
Climate Adaption Policy
In this edition of the Signpost Series, which took place on Aug 24, 2020, host Mark Gibson was joined by Damien Wyse, Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) and Michael O'Donovan, Teagasc to discuss adapting to the Impacts of Climate change in the Agriculture Sector and how can we improve grass growth variability followed by a questions and answers session with the audience.
Examples of Teagasc Policy Contributions include
- The development of Marginal Abatement Cost Curves (MACC), which have informed DAFM’s AgClimatise strategy.
- The Teagasc FAPRI-Ireland model, notably used in the annual cycle of EPA GHG projections and in the Teagasc GHG MACC analysis.
- The Teagasc National Farm Survey, which is the Irish component of the EU Farm Accountancy Data Network, also used to publish the Teagasc Sustainability Report
- Research on farm level behavioural change towards building climate change resilience, commissioned by the CCAC through the EPA.
- Research in the area of sustainable dietary change.
- Opening Statement to an Oireachtas committee (May 2019).
- EU Common Agricultural Policy policy analysis.
- Identification of high nature value farmland.
- Results based payments for biodivertsity enhancement.
- Teagasc contribution to the National Bioeconomy Action Plan 2023-2025 (Nov 2022).
- Teagasc Submission to the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss (Sep 2022).
- Teagasc Opening Statement to the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action regarding the sequestration and land management/nature restoration (Nov 2022).
- Teagasc submission to the Nitrates Action Programme review (Sep 2021).
Published research from the Climate Centre has also contributed to improving the natioanl Greenhouse Gas Inventory compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency. For example:
- Refinement of national emission factors.
- Nitrous oxide for animal excreta and fertiliser
- Methane
- Carbon dioxide
- Improvement in the collation of agricutlural activity data such as manure management and the area of drained peat soils.
Current Climate Centre research projects focusing on this research priority