Farm biodiversity study would cost €65m to complete

And key farming target for proposed Programme for Government would require 650 full-time agri advisors

IT COULD cost at least €65 million to carry out a baseline biodiversity survey on every farm in the country.

The survey would take more than 650 agricultural advisors at least a year to complete, if they are focused solely on this work, it has been estimated.

The survey is a critical plank of the agricultural strategy in the Programme for Government agreed last week by the Green Party, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

The agreement says the new administration will “carry out a baseline biodiversity survey on every farm to inform future policy development”.

Agriculture Minister, Michael Creed, said such a study was “critically important” to build a “clear picture” of biodiversity on Irish farms.

The work is viewed as essential in the move away from ‘action-based’ agri-environment schemes such as GLAS to future programmes which will be results-based.

However, agricultural consultants maintain that a national survey involving all 130,000 farmers who apply for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) will be a mammoth and expensive undertaking.

Mayo and Offaly-based advisor Ian Kenny said the cost of a biodiversity study could vary considerably but he estimated that it is likely to range from €350 to €500 per farm which works out at a total of €45m-65m nationally.

“It will depend on the level of detail that is required, whether it is general or you have to be down on your hands and knees,” Mr Kenny said.

He explained that surveys carried out for the pearl mussel and hen harrier schemes generally cost in the region of €350 to €500 per holding.

Mr Kenny said the biodiversity standing of a farm could be estimated from the quality of the hedgerows, the prevalence of various flowers and trigger species, and whether the grasslands had been reseeded over the last 10 or so years.

However, he said it will take a day on average to walk the holding and input the data.

Green Party agriculture spokesperson Pippa Hackett said carrying out the survey in an “efficient and economic” manner will need some thought.

She said ecologists should be involved in the design of the survey, or the training of those undertaking the work, but she did not rule out farmers doing some level of self-assessment.

The BRIDE project in east Cork showed that there was “a happy medium” between intensive dairy and drystock farming and maintaining biodiversity, she said.

UCD-based agricultural ecologist Dr Helen Sheridan welcomed the decision to carry out the survey but cautioned that it will require a considerable commitment in terms of both resources and money.

“I think the biodiversity survey will be fantastic, and it is long overdue,” she said.

“It will be costly and time-consuming, but if we are serious about the effectiveness of agri-environment schemes then we need a reference to work off, and this baseline survey could provide such a reference.”