The Government's planned agri-food strategy for the next decade has been dealt a serious blow after the Environmental Pillar withdrew from the group drafting it because it says the process is not moving agriculture and food production away from a "commodity driven" agri-system.
The group is walking away from the process because it says the strategy does not address green house gas reduction and other environmental targets.
The group says that the Agri-Food 2030 Strategy Committee is failing to align agricultural production with environmental protection and legal obligations.
The Pillar, which represents 26 different environmental NGOs says, the strategy as it currently stands is "business as usual", in a letter to Taoiseach Micheál Martin the group says that commitments in the document are "vague and lack the bold concrete actions that would urgently shift agriculture away from its current predominantly livestock based model".
The group is walking away from the process because it says the strategy does not address green house gas reduction and other environmental targets.
The group says that the Agri-Food 2030 Strategy Committee is failing to align agricultural production with environmental protection and legal obligations.
The Pillar, which represents 26 different environmental NGOs, says the strategy as it currently stands is "business as usual".
In a letter to Taoiseach Micheál Martin the group said that commitments in the document are "vague and lack the bold concrete actions that would urgently shift agriculture away from its current predominantly livestock based model".
The group also criticises the Department of Agriculture's AgClimatise policy on emissions reductions, it says the policy "does not go far enough" on reducing emissions.
In the letter Karen Ciesielski of the Environmental Pillar said the group cannot stand over either policy document and she suggests to the Taoiseach that the Agri-Food 2030 Strategy should go back to Government so that "the drawing board can be reset" with "authentic sustainable credentials at its core".
In a statement issued today the Environmental Pillar said: "The soon-to-be-published draft 2030 Strategy serves as a follow-up to Food Wise 2025, and rather than drive the ecological transformation we need for agriculture and assure a future for all farmers, the draft 2030 Strategy perpetuates the business-as-usual model of intensification pursued for the last 10 years."
More than one-third of emissions here come from agriculture, the Environmental Pillar said.
"Despite a large volume of input from our own experts, the draft Strategy falls far short of what's required to bring agriculture in line with planetary boundaries and did not facilitate any meaningful public participation on the future of Irish land use.
"This industry-led process has ultimately failed to meet the moment and the draft document it produced provides no evidence that it is based on the EU Green Deal, including the EU Farm-to-Fork Strategy or the EU Biodiversity Strategy."
The three ministers at the Department of Agriculture said they regret the Environmental Pillar's decision.
In a statement issued by the department they said they hope that the group will reconsider its decision and re-engage.
They said it is crucial to have all stakeholders involved in the process, adding that Agri -ood 2030 will play a huge role in shaping the future direction of the agri-food sector.
