THE Danish Government will push for better recognition of farming in an ambitious global agreement on climate change when it hosts leaders from 192 countries at next month's climate change negotiations in Copenhagen.
Denmark's Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Eva Kjer Hansen, believes her country's own farmers have proven just how vital the agriculture sector can be in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
While the Danish farm sector is in particularly bad shape right now as a result of the global economic crisis, its place in the Danish economy is high, and its environmental credentials even higher, she says.
"Perceptions of food and food production were very important and farmers place a huge emphasis on traceability and the quality of their food because they want a high level of food security and quality," Mrs Kjer Hansen said.
"Danish farmers understand the high standards for what is acceptable in agricultural production emissions, especially for methane."
She said for years there has been a lot of public attention on agriculture's impact on the environment – and now animal welfare has come into the debate.
"The public put an enormous amount of pressure on farming and they are not very tolerant to us. There is enormous pressure to find solutions.
"But we are also in an economic situation where it is quite difficult for them to do this."
Mrs Kjer Hansen said there was big potential for further growth and new economic opportunities in the bio sector, in which the country's farmers were already leading the way in.
"We as a Government want to have more focus on biogas, using manure to generate gas for energy production," she said.
"Today I believe we only use about 5-8 per cent of livestock manure, but I believe we could use up to 50 per cent in the next 10 years.
"We have some government support to start up biogas plants around Denmark and I know that the farmers are quite interested in this.
"This has a positive effect on the environment and climate change – and it's an initiative that will give new possibilities for the farming.
"It has been an important point of view from the agricultural perspective that agriculture be part of the solution in the climate challenge.
"We can change our production methods so that farming and agriculture can deliver, first of all in the energy sector, but also for environmental purposes.
"When I look at what we've done in Denmark there's been a huge reduction in the last decade in climate change pressures.
"It's possible to find solutions in farming and I see big possibilities in the energy side."
* More stories from Denmark in today's Rural Press agricultural newspapers.
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