Agricultural and trade policies are set to take centre stage at a Brexit conference organised by Teagasc and the Agricultural Economics Society.
The conference, titled ‘Brexit and Beyond: Perspectives on the future of agricultural and trade policy’, is scheduled to get underway at 2:30pm on Monday, April 24 at the RDS Concert Hall in Dublin.
Both the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, and the First Vice President of the European Parliament, Mairead McGuinness, are due to speak at the event.
A number of other speakers from universities around Ireland and the UK will also feature at the event.
The agri-food sector in the UK and Ireland faces some significant uncertainties in the years to come, according to Teagasc.
In Ireland changes in agricultural policy will be delivered via CAP reform, while its departure from the EU will afford the UK the possibility to redesign its own agricultural support mechanism, it added.
Brexit has the potential to affect the substantial agri-food trade between Ireland and the UK, with implications for farmers, the food industry and consumers.
There is no charge for this event, but prior registration is a requirement; the conference is set to run until 6:30pm.
The Agricultural Economics Society, which is organising the conference alongside Teagasc, claims to be one of the world’s leading associations of professional and academic agricultural economists. It was founded in 1926 and it has some 350 members in 65 countries throughout the world.
This Brexit-themed conference is taking part on the same day as the IFA’s event in Goffs in Kill, Co. Kildare. A range of political leaders, at both Irish and EU level, and key stakeholders in the Irish farming and food sectors are set to discuss the implications of Brexit at the IFA conference.
The IFA conference, titled ‘Brexit: The Imperatives for Irish Farmers and the Agri-Food Sector’, is set to get underway at 10am; it will comprise of a mixture of keynote speakers and panel discussions.
Both Commissioner Hogan and Irish MEP Mairead McGuinness are also due to speak at the IFA conference, as well as the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.