An eight-member team has been appointed by Irish horticulture minister Ciaran Cuffe to implement recommendations aimed at boosting the output and value of the Republic’s fresh produce sector.
The recommendations are contained in Food Harvest 2020, a detailed departmental report that sets ambitious output and export targets for all areas of Irish agriculture over the next decade. It acknowledges that horticulture faces competitive pressures from cheaper imports and high input costs such as energy, but says: “Notwithstanding this, the sector has potential for further development.”
The report calls for greater emphasis by Bord Bia on developing products such as herbs, indoor fruit, mini potatoes and ornamentals and for research on the production of non-traditional fruit and vegetables. Allied to this should be an intensified promotion of the benefits of fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy lifestyle, it said.
While the domestic market takes most of Irish horticultural output, estimated to be worth €370 million annually, mushroom exports to the UK are valued at more than €100m, with amenity products making up 20 per cent of the sector’s output.
The report urges Irish growers to make greater efforts to replace imports and also to get into the organic market. The organic sector, it claims, offers growth opportunities, given the value of the home market and the fact that organic crops are suited to small scale production.
It calls for an update of plant and equipment; the adoption of emerging technologies and plant breeding; the active encouragement of producer groups as well as a review of state funding programmes to ensure the industry is making the most of the opportunities available.
“Horticulture has been transformed in the past decade by technological advances,” it says. “Maximising this potential requires greater integration between state agencies, research institutes and industry.”
Those recruited to examine how the recommendations can be implemented represent a broad spectrum of the industry, from growers to wholesalers, as well as three state agency officials.
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