Investment in agriculture delivers

Construction work for the €2.5bn farm-waste storage finished in 2008. So, only one third of the benefits were recorded in the water test period

INVESTMENT in agriculture delivers. Sources in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) say increased farm storage for manure and slurry has already helped to improve groundwater quality, reporting that 85% of groundwater tested was “of good status” in 2007, 2009 and 2009.

Construction work for the €2bn investment in farm-waste storage finished on December 31, 2008. So, only one-third of the benefits were recorded in the three-year water-quality test period. The EPA confidently predicts that, in time, the improved storage, plus reduced use of inorganic fertiliser, will reduce nitrate and phosphate concentrations in groundwater.