Incentives for food producers
The call for smaller entities to avail of state-supported research is not a new message, but it is one which the authorities are now actively pushing to maximise the benefits they hope the agri-food sector can deliver in the next few critical years for the Irish economy. The reality is that not enough small food producers realise that they are the target of these calls to innovate and develop new products.
A lot of the companies who actually avail of free or near-zero cost research back-up from Teagasc and Ireland’s universities and the institutes of technology get there via an Enterprise Ireland innovation and research voucher. These are not just food companies, of course, but all categories.
Last Thursday, Teagasc was joined in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, by an elite audience that included chief executives and directors of the Irish Dairy Board (IDB), Glanbia, Dairygold, Lakeland Dairies, ICOS and other key players in the Irish agri-food, tech and finance sectors.
They were there to learn about the State’s new Food Technology and Knowledge Transfer Strategy. Some 40 Teagasc technologies for the food industry were on show, along with a bound portfolio of patents seeking industry partners and/or buyers.
Teagasc director Prof Gerry Boyle said he hoped these patent offers would be picked up by Irish companies, but they were equally open to global players.
Anyone reading this, while leaning on a farm gate and looking out at a field full of grass, might be forgiven for wondering in what way all this relates to them. Frankly, reading on probably won’t answer that question.
Bord Bia’s researchers, for instance, might offer you an insight into the food markets most likely to deliver success, but it is up to the individual food producer to make the leap into believing that they can add value to their farm output by at least partially transforming themselves into food companies.
In next week’s Farming we will look at how Teagasc is helping producers to make that leap, adding scientific research to their ambitions.
There are many instances of farmers making the leap into successful food entrepreneurs. In reporting on this area for the paper, I’ve met a few of them. One man certainly enjoying the challenges associated with that leap is Ray Coyle, chief executive of Tayto crisps producer Largo Foods.
At a non-agri business conference a number of years back, somebody suggested I should interview Mr Coyle, a potato farmer friend of his in Co Meath who, as the man put it, was a bit of a character who was going to overtake Tayto in the Irish market.
Is he really, I thought, best of luck with that.
Had I heard of Hunky Dory crisps? the man asked me. No, I hadn’t — which shows that this story is a bit old now.
Anyway, long story short, to my shame, I didn’t get around to seeking out Ray Coyle at the time. I have since. To be fair, he wasn’t starved of publicity in the interim, as the scantily clad Hunky Dory rugby-playing models have shown Mr Coyle has an eye for the upside of controversy rivalled only by Michael O’Leary of Ryanair.
In 2006, Mr Coyle acquired the Tayto and King Crisp brands from C&C. He soon launched Tayto Park, a family tour attraction that draws up to 4,000 visitors on a sunny Sunday. He was one of the food sector champs recruited by Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland in March to trumpet the €5,000 feasibility grants to encourage would-be food company start-ups to make the leap into business.
That initiative is now being followed up by the Teagasc Food Technology and Knowledge Transfer Strategy. Clearly, the country wants — and, let’s face it, probably needs — more food producers to make that leap into business.
Speaking in the Aviva Stadium last Thursday, Teagasc assistant director of research, Declan Troy, said: “We understand the technical needs of food companies and we want to ensure that our technologies are fully utilised and our capabilities are fully accessible to the industry.”
The business route may not be for everyone, but it must be tantalising for those in food production to stand by watching others enjoy a large chunk of the ultimate profits when their food produce is packaged and sold to the consumer.
For those wondering if they could have a greater share, it might be worth putting that question to the likes of Teagasc or Bord Bia, perhaps taking time for a chat with Enterprise Ireland or your local Leader group or Enterprise Board on the way.
* Stephen Cadogan returns next week
