To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for an update on the use of methane-lowering food supplements for livestock.

The Global Methane Pledge was signed up to by over 100 countries at COP 26. The pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030 will no doubt include a contribution from agriculture, as methane accounts for 66% of local emissions.

There is a considerable worldwide research effort being put into the development of seaweed based feed additives to reduce enteric methane emissions from cattle and sheep. Research in this field is being undertaken locally at AFBI and QUB.

DAERA has had discussions with the Dutch company DSM on the use of the 3NOP/Bovaer feed additive which has been shown to reduce enteric methane emissions from cattle by between 20% and 30%. 3NOP was approved for use as a feed additive by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in February 2022.

Within the Consultation on Future Agricultural Policy, I stated that consideration is being given to the development of a challenge fund model to test these additives in Northern Ireland conditions and, if successful, and the market for these products matures sufficiently, taking necessary steps to ensure enteric methane reducing feed additives are routinely incorporated into ruminant concentrate diets.