Consumers ‘can save jobs by buying home-produced horticulture goods’

CONSUMERS can help sustain Irish jobs by buying home-produced seed potatoes, apples and other horticulture goods, according to one Teagasc expert.

More than 3,000 jobs are sustained by solid domestic sales of potatoes and mushrooms, along with a very strong export trade. A similar support for other products could potentially have a similarly positive impact.

Teagasc horticulture programme manager Jim O’Mahony said: “There are opportunities to add value to existing horticulture output and increase Irish production by displacing imports. Over half of the seed potatoes used in Ireland are imported and the opportunities to replace these with homegrown seed potatoes are being actively explored. Similarly 95% of apples consumed in Ireland are imported, so the possibilities to grow more apples in Ireland are also being identified.

“We are also looking at the export markets in the UK and other countries in a bid to increase the cut foliage sector in Ireland. In Teagasc Kildalton, research on growing sweet potatoes is taking place, as all of the €4m worth of sweet potatoes consumed in Ireland are currently being imported.”

The horticultural sector contributes over €360m to agricultural output at farm-gate level and provides over 6,000 jobs in the production sector. In addition, the amenity services sector has a value of over €2bn and employs an estimated 12,700 people. Further development of the horticulture sector could help to get more people back to work.

Teagasc has responded to an unprecedented surge in demand for information on horticulture with a series of new courses to run in the spring. These will cover the vegetable and potato sectors, fruit, mushrooms, cut foliage and floristry, turf grass, nursery stock, landscape design, and protected crops.

The courses include practical sessions in the afternoon. Two one-day Introduction to Horticulture courses are being held next Monday at Teagasc Kildalton, Co Kilkenny, and next Tuesday at Teagasc, Kinsealy, Co Dublin.

Following these courses, a 36-hour Fruit and Vegetable Production course is planned and will take place at Teagasc Kildalton, starting on Thursday, March 24.

This course will run one day per week for six weeks. It is aimed at those individuals wishing to develop small commercial enterprises in this area.

Additionally, there will be a six-week (36 hour) Amenity course held at Teagasc, Kinsealy, Co Dublin. This course will focus on running small amenity businesses.

These courses are organised by the Teagasc Horticulture Development Department along with the horticultural colleges.

lFor further information on these courses, visit: teagasc.ie/horticulture/ or contact Teagasc Kildalton on 051 644400, or Teagasc Kinsealy on 01 8459000.