Research vital to give food sector cutting edge
In most cases, this is probably just as well, but in some instances they are consigned to dust-gathering shelves and forgotten about.
One of the difficulties is the reports are often commissioned by the state.
To have any real impact, they require direct or indirect action by some arm of the state if they are to have any real long-term impact.
One such report was published earlier this week and it comes from the Government’s own direct think tank Forfás, the policy advisory board on enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation.
It issued what was a critical report into the food sector. Its primary concern was to deal with the future skills needs of the food industry.
In an Irish context, this is one of the most dynamic arms of the economy, given the pace of change in food technology and the huge shift in consumer demand as lifestyles continue to undergo dramatic shifts.
In the west, the cliche goes that we are cash-rich but time-poor. Buying convenience food and eating out, eating while on the move etc are increasingly becoming the norm and the scramble to produce alternative foods to meet that change in demand and in consumer lifestyles is one of the major challenges ahead.
It also offers one big opportunity for the food sector, providing an open invitation to the sector to deliver food that meets the exacting demands of today’s consumer, many of whom are becoming more health conscious, a fact demonstrated by the increasing proliferation of foods that improve your health as well as providing the basic nutritional requirements of the individual.
While the food sector has been responsive to those changes, it still looks as if much more research is required to give the Irish food sector the cutting edge in terms of food development in the years ahead.
It is incumbent on us to create domestically driven researched products that will meet the demands of the international consumer.
Even a few successes could have an enormous impact on the economy, and it is imperative we steer future research in that direction if we are to have some chance of creating a genuine manufacturing base in this country capable of standing on its own. Already the food sector has a vibrant base underpinning it. Directly, it employs 47,000, while a further 280,000 are employed indirectly on farms and in sub-supply industries and ancillary services.
In its report on skills requirements, the Forfás report concludes the responses from industry, education, training and state-support organisations respond “will be a key determinant of whether or not Ireland can retain a vibrant and successful food processing industry into the future.”
That was the conclusion of Dr Daniel O’Hare, chair of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, when he announced the report: Demand and Supply of Skills in the Food Processing Sector. This report deals specifically with the needs of industry. Is argues there is a need for a rebalance of the kind of skills being provided at third level, while concluding that enough graduates are being turned out annually.
What’s in doubt is the type of skills many of these have relative to the needs of the sector that turned over €15 billion last year.
Despite the challenges and opportunities on offer in this sector the report concluded it was lacking in “strategic planning and human resource planning in particular”.
In the context of creating next-generation foods, the report is particularly discouraging. It said the interaction between the third level sector and the food industry is patchy at best.
Given the role by the Science Foundation Ireland and the near €600m put up by the State to foster greater research between academics and the broad cross-section of Irish industry, that conclusion ought to be examined further and without delay.
