A nature scientist clashed with a farming industry representative about how agriculture should address biodiversity loss, during an Ireland-focused webinar.

Laura Kehoe, who has worked for The Nature Conservancy and at University of Oxford, said she was at her “wit’s end” with the kinds of arguments put forward by fellow panellist Eddie Punch, general secretary for the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association.

“I cannot allow somebody that works for an industry that gains profit [from agriculture] to have the last say in this,” she said, following Punch’s closing remarks during a Policy Forum for Ireland panel.

“I think this is what causes these blockages in transformational change, because we constantly get looped into these narratives of: ‘Oh, no, it’s okay. We just need to fiddle around the edges,’ versus the scientists who are literally pulling their hair out at this point, because of the influence of lobby, of profit, of capital, in the destruction of the Earth’s biosphere.”

Her words followed Punch saying that food production was “more complex” than the sustainable narrative allows for.

“The idea that you can wave a magic wand and transition farms from generations of livestock farming to plant-based farming is not remotely connected to the reality of what that would entail in practice,” Punch said.

“It is not probably really remotely connected to the reality of the demand for food and what people are eating globally,” he claimed.

Farmers should try to work in the most sustainable manner possible, but should not be told “they are idiots for being in the wrong business”, he said.

Kehoe said she was not calling farmers idiots.

“I love farmers, I’m friends with farmers, farmers often want to transition but they do not have the knowledge or expertise to do so,” she said.

“They are being blocked by lobby groups that want to keep things the same for the sake of profit. And I cannot express my rage at the current state of affairs because of this dynamic that constantly plays out.”

During the panel, representatives from Wild Atlantic Nature Life Integrated Project and Kildare County Council also spoke about the need tackle to biodiversity loss in Ireland through changing farming practices.

On Thursday, Ireland launched its National Biodiversity Action Plan. Nearly 95% of the country has been modified by activities such as agriculture, urban development, energy infrastructure, and mining, it said.

Some farmers of traditional produce like cattle are resistant to change towards more nature-friendly activities, as it requires a cultural upheaval with a departure from practices that have shaped communities for generations.

Switching to more sustainable activities requires investment in staff and equipment. Punch noted how the cost to farmers of planting hedges to improve biodiversity has increased significantly due to inflation.

However, scientists say changes to the agricultural system are crucial if we are to tackle the biodiversity crisis, while decarbonising and ensuring food security. Land management for agriculture, and the effects of climate change, are having the biggest impacts on UK wildlife, a State of Nature Partnership report found last year.

Kehoe’s suggestions for improving biodiversity included:

• Setting targets for minimum amounts of farmland dedicated to biodiversity through methods such as agroforestry
• Creating a farmland transition fund for farmers to transition lands and restore ecosystems
• Reintroducing missing predator species like wolves to help restore ecological balance in Ireland

Ireland has a €1.5 billion Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme that aims to achieve biodiversity outcomes while supporting up to 50,000 farming families.

By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com

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