The Taoiseach has told farmers that climate change is the biggest threat facing Ireland today and it is not clear what type of agriculture we will have in 20, 30 or 40 years time.
Speaking at the AGM of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), Leo Varadkar said the climate is getting warmer and drier, and in order to rise to the climate challenge, openness to significant change will be needed.
He said farming income can be protected with other things like forestry and carbon farming.
He said the agri-sector will not be asked to take a disproportionate part of climate mitigation.
Leo Varadkar said there is a lot of climate shaming of farmers, and that only gets peoples backs up.
He said he wants climate shaming to stop.
The Taoiseach said attention will shift from farming to other sectors, like transport, if it succeeds in reducing emissions by a few percent every year, as happened last year across the sector.
Family farms need to be protected
Environment Minister Eamon Ryan told the ICMSA AGM that farmers should not be demonised by anybody. He said farming and the food industry are critical to this country.
He said climate change is real and unfolding before our eyes and we need to address it alongside biodiversity and water quality.
Minister Ryan said we should play to our strengths, such as our grass-fed farming and it makes sense for farmers to look for complementary income from energy production.
He said the family farm needs to be protected as it is a cornerstone of rural Ireland.
Minister Ryan said that if we do not go green we put the future of farming at risk and farmers should diversify.
'Core priority'
Speaking at the same event, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said addressing challenges in the farming sector is his "core priority".
He said the nitrates changes, price increases, supply change issues and economic situation have made the last few years very challenging for farmers.
The Minister said he is convinced there is scope for continued growth in the value of dairy sector output, which is one of the largest and most profitable indigenous sectors, with exports worth €7 billion last year.
"I firmly believe that Ireland can continue to produce the same volume of dairy products in the future but the industry needs to adapt to ensure that this is done in the most environmentally efficient manner possible.
"We are at an evolutionary inflexion point of change, which is only the latest of which Irish farmers have shown adaptability to."
