Irish Agriculture is at a crossroads. With the reform of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), coupled with GATT reforms, the sector is facing severe job losses. More recently the closure of the Carlow Sugar Factory in March 2005 and of Mallow in 2006 sounded the death knell for sugar beet growers. The Green Party believes that as oil prices spike and with a surge in demand for gas and electricity this poses a unique opportunity for Irish farmers to grow crops for renewable energy and must be supported at Government level.

It is important to enhance the flexibility and diversity of agriculture and to sustain the family farm. Above all, it is important to safeguard the land for future generations, and to encourage young people into farming.

The Green Party supports agricultural development that is sustainable. This means:

• meeting the food needs of the current population
• ensuring that future generations are also able to meet their own needs.

Agriculture and rural resources need to be viewed as a whole, because food production cannot take place in a desolate wasteland. We therefore need to consider the following aspects of agriculture side by side:

• the production of food, forestry, fibre, biomass and oil crops
• preservation and enhancement of soil fertility and water quality
• the needs of wildlife, remembering that habitats are not in specific areas, but are integral to a healthy and biodiverse landscape.

The objective of sustainable agriculture requires a radical rethink of government institutions and the way they work. The Department of Agriculture needs to develop new ways of working, particularly with non-governmental organisations and civil society groups, and with regional development agencies and local authorities. Getting the institutional mechanisms right will be a key task in the drive towards sustainable agriculture.