Minister Heydon convenes meeting of key stakeholders

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, today convened a meeting of key stakeholders including farmer and industry representatives.

Following the meeting, Minister Heydon stated: “There was a detailed and thorough discussion in relation to several specific issues related to Bord Bia which have been raised in recent weeks. The discussion also focused on what can be done to improve the experience for farmers around audits, while ensuring the Quality Assurance Schemes are future proofed to continue to benefit famers and the Irish agri-food sector. All participants had the chance to express their views and were heard. I am pleased that stakeholders engaged constructively.”

“We have identified from contributions today that there needs to be a renewed focus on farmer experience of the audit and Bord Bia engagement with farmers.”

As a result, Bord Bia has committed to:

• Revisit the focus on farmer experiences with audits, as we move towards the end of the criteria review process in the Technical Advisory Committees.
• Establish a farmer forum on Quality Assurance Scheme to improve farmer engagement and two-way feedback on the work of Bord Bia.
• A dedicated information campaign, with stakeholder input, to better inform the general public about the Origin Green and Quality Assurance Schemes and what that means for consumers in Ireland and elsewhere.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will undertake an initiative to enhance understanding of global supply chains for Irish food and drink and understanding of labelling and food information for the consumer requirements.

All parties were asked to engage with these processes in good faith, and to provide further feedback.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss key priorities for the year ahead, including CAP post-2027, EU Budget negotiations, water quality and the Nitrates Derogation, animal disease issues, supports for generational renewal, and the steps all stakeholders need to take collectively to improve health and safety on-farm.

Minister Heydon thanked stakeholders for giving these important issues their consideration and commented that: “The real success of the agri-food sector lies in our ability to work together; we have seen this through our successive strategies for the sector and the collaborative way in which we have responded to significant challenges over the last decade, including Brexit and the Covid-19 crisis.”

“The discussions today will provide a starting point for the midterm review of Food Vision 2030, our stakeholder-led strategy. A public consultation on the midterm review of Food Vision 2030 will be launched later this month.”