AgTech Ireland is urging local and European election candidates to support the role of agtech businesses in the future of Irish agriculture.
The call comes as AgTech Ireland chair Padraig Hennessy launched the organisation’s manifesto ahead of the June 7 local and European elections.
“At local level, candidates must commit to ensuring that locally based agtech businesses can thrive and develop.
“This requires supportive planning measures, good access to power and telecommunication infrastructure, to finance, and local and national agency supports, such as Local Enterprise Offices (LEO) and Enterprise Ireland (EI),” he said.
“In Brussels and Strasbourg, our future MEPs must ensure that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and other farm and agri-business support measures rely on science-based approaches.
“They must support our farmers and industry to modernise and improve efficiency in their use of resources, reducing their environmental footprint without damaging our European and global food security,” Hennessy added.
AgTech Ireland
AgTech Ireland said that agtech companies will play a key role in speeding and scale on-farm adoption of better practices and technologies.
It said that this will enable Irish agriculture to reduce it greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25% by 2030 and reach net zero by the middle of the century.
“It is crucial for candidates from all parties and none to remember just how critical rural Ireland is to the social, economic, and public life of the country, as well as its environment.
“Agriculture and farming, among other sectors, have tough, challenging climate and environmental obligations, which, uniquely, they are already hard at work to meet,” Hennessy said.
He pointed to changes in the nitrates legislation, concerns around the continuation of Ireland’s nitrates derogation and challenging weather conditions.
In order for the agtech sector to deliver its full potential for Irish agriculture, AgTech Ireland believes that election candidates must commit to supporting the following points:
- Transparency and coherence of policy on VAT refunds to unregistered farmers for certain types of on-farm investments;
- Coherence in national and European policy around supporting sustainability enhancing farm practices and investments;
- Improve the operational efficiency of the new Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes (TAMS) rollout;
- Include agtech innovations in TAMS, the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) and other CAP schemes;
- Consider other incentives to encourage the on-farm adoption of technology to reduce emissions;
- Develop agreed validation protocols for agtech innovators with state agencies and other institutions;
- Foster a supportive taxation framework to encourage investment by agtech startups and established companies;
- Include marginal agricultural sectors in support policies and schemes;
- Champion agtech companies in accessing venture capital, finance and business supports.