Supporting Ireland's sustainable food and farming transition

In an era defined by unprecedented environmental challenges, Irish agriculture and food production systems have a well-known and significant challenge, and accordingly, an opportunity. 

This whitepaper, co-written by Bank of Ireland and Davy Horizons, offers a range of support to clients of both institutions - farmers, agri-business, retailers, plc and SME - across the food value chain to navigate this transition. The paper's aim is to raise awareness of the challenges, opportunities, solutions and investment needed in Ireland for the sustainable food and farming transition underway. 

Key points:

• To achieve Ireland's sustainability goals requires significant transition in how we farm and use our land to manage environment, social, and economic ambitions. This will require a collaborative approach with consistent policies and incentives to implement the solutions required. 
• On climate change, to meet Ireland's Climate Action Plan GHG emissions reduction target of 25% by 2030 for agriculture requires action, not just on farms, but also in the bioenergy and land sectors. The development of a bioenergy sector of scale with the correct infrastructure, investments and incentives is crucial. 
• The goal and opportunity for Ireland is to become a world leader in sustainable food systems, as part of Ireland's 2030 Food Vision policy.  
• The investment needed by the agriculture sector to achieve all these measures is substantial - estimated at a total of €3.2 billion to €4.3 billion (during 2021 - 2030).
• All actors in the food value chain - farmers, producers, and retailers - will be impacted by the challenges and opportunities of the transition. Progress is being made to meet our ambitious targets by 2030 but further action is pivotal.