Food industry leaders say farms need help to compete

LONG term leasing and partnerships have been identified by food industry leaders as the route for farms to play their role in Ireland remaining a leading food producing country.

Ireland's small milk quotas, only about half the size of the Dutch average, are well behind the scale needed to compete in the European food industry, says an advisory group chaired by Kerry Group CEO Hugh Friel.

Government policy must facilitate leasing and partnerships, if farmers are to reach the necessary level of competitiveness needed for a successful food export industry, from farm to fork, said the advisory group.