Food chiefs: Agriculture has bright future but long-term vision needed

A LONG-TERM plan for agriculture and farming was sought by industry leaders at the IFA-organised forum, which 700 people attended.

There was a consensus among chief executives of leading food companies that such a strategic plan is needed.

Owen Killian, chief executive, Aryzta, said agriculture has a bright future, but that claim might seem hollow to farmers who currently have no income.

Bosses were of the opinion that a bright future exists for the sector, but that changes are needed to tackle key challenges.

These include a growing world population, increasing demand for food, rising energy costs, market competitiveness and the serious impact of sterling depreciation on food exports.

Glanbia group managing director John Moloney said milk quotas will go by 2015 and Ireland will have the opportunity to grow production in the dairy sector by 50%.

A partnership approach between milk producers, processors and the Government was needed to restructure the industry.

Regarding dairy industry rationalisation, Kerry Group chief executive Stan McCarthy said the difficulties would not want to be overlooked.

The industry was under-capitalised and any rationalisation plan would be treading on a lot of delicate social issues, he said.

John Horgan, managing director, Kepak, said farmers and beef processors had started to talk to one another. Everyone in the food supply chain needed to do likewise, he said.

The recent collapse in the value of sterling relative to the euro was a major challenge facing the beef industry. This needed to be addressed if Irish exporters were to hold their share of the crucial British market, he said.

Senior policy-makers from Government departments, including that of Taoiseach Brian Cowen, attended the one-day forum and executives from relevant state agencies were also present.

Tom McCarthy and a team from the Irish Management Institute will co-ordinate the key messages into an action plan which the IFA will present to Government. Opportunities existed in developing sectors closely related to agriculture and the countryside, particularly tourism and the green economy.