Food security cannot be taken for granted

THERE is an increasing awareness that food security cannot be taken for granted in a world where demand is rising rapidly and is expected to double by 2050.

That’s what Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Mary Coughlan told Fine Gael TD Richard Bruton in a written reply to a Dáil question.

He had sought the minister’s views on “the impending food security crisis” and the measures she will take to ensure the Irish consumer is not adversely affected by global food shortages.

Ms Coughlan said there is a greater recognition of the key role agriculture plays in managing scarce water and soil resources, and of the contribution it can make to renewable energy.

“All these trends in societal expectations underpin the importance of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and of the European model of agriculture,” she said.

Ms Coughlan said in that connection the 2003 reforms of the CAP with the introduction of the full decoupling of direct payments under the single payment scheme ensures that farmers now have the ‘freedom to farm’ and that the CAP is geared towards the demands of the market and consumers.

The single payment scheme is linked to food safety, animal welfare and environmental standards. Consumers are guaranteed a supply of safe food, produced to high animal welfare and environmental standards, at reasonable cost.