Agri-Vision report will point the way to an export-led national recovery

IN his column (July 8), Ivan Yates wrote about the future of farming.

While your readers were no doubt interested in reading the views of a former Minister for Agriculture on such an important issue, it is also important that they are informed by the facts.

Mr Yates wants the agriculture sector to become more export focused and concludes a quite informative column with a call on the Government “to establish a 2020 forum to oversee and implement this export-led growth narrative”.

I assume from this he is unaware such a forum has been established since last February and has already delivered an extensive report to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith. The report was prepared by the Agri-Vision 2020 Committee chaired by Dr Seán Brady and with a membership drawn widely from the relevant stakeholders in the agri-food, forestry and fishing sector.

Minister Smith will be bringing the report to cabinet soon and intends to publish it shortly afterwards. Mr Yates and the readers of the Irish Examiner will no doubt look forward to the publication of a detailed series of recommendations that will have far reaching implications for our export-led recovery.

Martina Kearney

Press & Information Officer

Department of Agriculture

Fisheries and Food

Kildare Street

Dublin 2