ATHENS, Ireland, November 17 (Reuters)-Scientists are looking for seaweed to feed cattle and sheep on the west coast of Ireland after studies have shown that seaweed can prevent them from exhaling so much warming methane.

The project is coordinated by the national agricultural agency and is taking advantage of the country's growing seaweed harvesting industry, which is looking for new markets as it revives centuries of tradition.

But some people doubt that if Ireland is to reduce Europe's largest per capita methane production by 2030, seaweed feed additives-or any rapid technical repair-can avoid the need to reverse the surge in Irish cattle populations.

The researchers tested about 20 species of seaweed, most of which came from the Atlantic coast of Ireland that was blown by the wind, and the project's partners in Norway, Canada, Sweden, Germany and the United Kingdom also collected dozens of species of seaweed.

Scientists in the United States and Australia have proven that when a small amount is added to the raw material, a type of seaweed-asparagus has significant methane reduction properties.

But they have not managed to expand the scale of seaweed production, which is not easy to grow in northwestern Europe.

The Irish project aims to find abundant native seaweed to replace, although researchers admit that they are unlikely to match the more than 80% reduction in emissions shown by asparagus.

"We have identified some very positive brown seaweeds that are producing results," said Maria Hayes, the project leader of the SeaSolutions project. Her team has achieved methane reductions of 11% to 20% in early trials.

"Emission reduction will not be a panacea... but it can significantly reduce emissions," said Hayes, who works at Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority.

Researchers are also studying how to integrate feed additives into Ireland's mainly grass-based cattle breeding system.

On a farm outside Hillsborough, southwest of Belfast, researchers coaxed cows with snacks to put their heads into a solar powered machine to measure the amount of methane in their breath.

Sharon Huws, professor of animal science and microbiology at Queen's University Belfast, said they will use seaweed additives to test them again.

"The level used to feed ruminants is very, very small, so you don't need to consume large amounts to have an impact," she said.

This technology has aroused the imagination of agricultural groups and politicians, who insisted that strict targets to reduce methane and other greenhouse gas emissions should not mean a reduction in the size of the Irish agricultural sector.

After growing by more than 10% in the past 10 years, Ireland has 7.4 million cattle and is one of Europe's largest exporters of beef and dairy products.

On October 7, 2021, around the solar methane measuring machine on the AFBI (Agricultural Food and Biological Sciences Institute) research farm in Hillsboro, Northern Ireland, cows who are trying to feed seaweed to offset methane emissions gathered around. REUTERS/Clauda Kilcoyne

According to the Climate Observation Database, its per capita methane production-which has a higher endothermic potential than carbon dioxide-is the highest in the European Union.

Colorless and odorless gas leaks from garbage dumps, oil and gas infrastructure, and the digestive systems of cattle and sheep.

At the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow this month, Ireland signed a pledge to reduce global methane production by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.

But government ministers insisted that this is mainly achieved by reducing non-agricultural methane by 50%, and agricultural methane will only be reduced by 10% by 2030.

They pointed out that seaweed feed additives are a way to curb emissions without reducing the size of the herd-reducing the average age of beef cattle slaughter and genetic studies are other possible solutions.

The chemical company Royal DSM (DSMN.AS) said it produces a competitor's food additive that can reduce methane production by about 30%. The company said it has obtained regulatory approvals in Brazil and Chile and is seeking approval from the European Union.

But not everyone believes that this technology can achieve its goals.

“It takes time to scale up these solutions. We don’t have time,” said Sadhbh O'Neill, a lecturer in climate policy and environmental politics at Dublin City University, who bluntly criticized the industry’s attempts to rely on technology rather than address Ireland’s problems. A sustainable problem agricultural model.

Irish researchers have used a network of seaweed harvesters that are reviving traditions mentioned in monastic writings as early as the 5th century.

But if the test is successful, they have no plans to expand the scale of production.

Some harvesters serving the organic food and cosmetics market doubt whether feed additives will bring sufficient profits when there are many opportunities elsewhere.

"Currently this is a huge market, and seaweed is really prosperous," said Evan Talty, managing director of Wild Irish Seaweeds, who restored the harvesting technique used by his grandfather and focused on food and skin care products. He said that the methane additive market is "out of our focus."

"Everyone is paying close attention to it," said Jenny O'Halloran of Bláth na Mara, a small hand-harvested harvester on Innismore Island on the west coast of Ireland.

"Maybe its future is actually cultivating seaweed, and I think this must be part of the conversation when it comes to the future of Irish seaweed," she said.

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