Agri-food’s glowing report card
Agriculture Minister of State, Tom Hayes, rolled out a review to his Dáil colleagues of the department’s performance to date. There’s no denying that the Department is justified in claiming to have made “ substantive progress” on most of its 23 recommendations in the programme for Government.
Mr Hayes cited good outcomes from EU and international negotiations; positive developments in the meat, dairy, food, aquaculture and sea fisheries sectors; progress in Food Harvest 2020 and specifically creating a brand image for Irish agri-food; the department’s support for young farmers, the environment and animal welfare; and integration of marine policy into the department’s brief.
Outside of these goals, the department has also created a real buzz about agri-food, with all of the big domestic companies growing in export markets, and with new food and drinks companies pop-ping up on a weekly basis.
Farmers are being urged to produce more. Where market prices for some of these farm outputs have fluctuated in the past 12 months, international prices are high at present. Of course, this won’t hold true of every commodity in every given week, but the tide is certainly turning towards food and drink producers.
There are clear signs that the bitter-sweet promise of global shortages is coming true. This demand, it seems, will continue to drive prices upward. Food shortages are part of the global reality, from which there will be an upside for Irish agri-food.
Mr Hayes’s address to the D•il was all about the upside. In its EU negotiations, the department’s main priorities over the past year were to achieve financial and policy clarity on the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, and to achieve nationally desirable outcomes on the re-view of the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, and the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP. Mission achieved.
The EU seven-year budget was agreed last year with guaranteed funding of €1.5bn per year for Ireland. The CAP deal was delivered under the Irish Presidency. A number of potential roadblocks have been bypassed. The reformed CAP is a continuation of a redeveloped single farm payment system which benefits active farmers, supports farm incomes and provides a direct payment ceiling for Ireland of more than €1.2bn per year.
The system agreed included an option of a partial convergence model — developed by the Irish Presidency and agreed by the Commission.
The department’s view is that the new CAP provides for a fairer, more equitable system than that originally proposed by the Commission.
Farmer opinion differs on some elements of the new CAP, but there’s no denying that the agri-food sector has retained its position as the dominant recipient of EU funding. For a non-farming view on how EU funds could be used to support sustainable environmental policies, see An Taisce’s interview on page 4 of today’s Farming. Then take a fresh look at EU investments in farming and fisheries.
In 2013, more than €1.18bn was paid on foot of almost 130,000 applications under the single farm payment scheme, plus another €200m under the disadvantaged areas scheme.
The refor med Common Fisheries Policy was also secured in the Irish Presidency.
While not everything went to plan, quotas of 270,000 tonnes were secured for Irish fishermen for 2014. This is worth €260m to the fishing industry — up 2% on last year.
Further initiatives are planned under the new rural development prog ramme. Around €4bn in national and EU funding will be made available in this programme for rural development over the seven-year period.
Mr Hayes also cited: “Inter-nationally ... [the Department made] first steps in opening of the US market to EU beef; opening the Japanese market to Irish beef (worth €12m to €15m annually); the UAE market for sheepmeat; the Libyan livestock market; the Australian pigmeat market; the Iranian market for beef; the Canadian market for sheepmeat; and the Chinese market for salmon.”
Mr Hayes also cited the dairy sector’s plans for a 60% output increase; Glanbia’s plan to invest €150m in a new major dairy processing unit; Dairygold’s new plant in Mitchelstown plant and its €90m new dryer in Mallow; and Kerry Co-op’s Charleville plant investment for its infant formula project with Chinese partner Beingmate. Also the Irish Dairy Board’s €20m investment in a Saudi dairy company and Kerry Foods new development centre to cater for specific customer tastes in the Middle East.
In terms of maximising EU support plus energising and harnessing funding from the domestic agri-food sector, the Department of Agriculture has certainly earned the right to pause, reflect and pat itself on the back.
