The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine has published a document titled ‘The Future of the Beef Sector in the Context of Food Wise 2025’, which was launched today, Tuesday, June 25.
The report contains 12 recommendations to “secure the beef sector’s future as a key player in the Irish agri-food industry’s predicted export growth”.
The committee examined the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with the beef sector as a means of exploring this ambition.
As such, the recommendations which follow are made in the context of Food Wise 2025.
12 recommendations
The committee recommends that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, undertakes a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) in consultation with the relevant stakeholders in relation to the implementation of the Unfair Trading Practices Directive.
The committee recommends that the minister actively pursues the establishment of a more detailed Meat Market Observatory at EU level, which would include pricing data in relation to individual meat products as is the case with dairy products and the EU Milk Market Observatory.
This measure will provide further transparency in the food supply chain as it relates to meat products.
The committee recommends that the minister establishes a dedicated section within his department which specialises in the live export trade. This section should be adequately resourced and should support and develop the live export trade so that it can reach its full potential. [See section 6.4]
The committee recommends that the minister facilitates a review of both the Quality Payment System (QPS) and the associated grading practices to establish if this system is being exploited and to ensure that the grading practices are accurate.
The committee recommends that the minister conducts a review of feedlots with a view to establishing the potential adverse impacts that their use may be having on the beef sector.
The committee recommends that the minister increases the levels of support available to prospective producer organisations.
The committee recommends that the minister prioritises seeking Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status for Irish suckler beef.
The committee recommends that an association be established by live exporters to represent their interests with a view to enhancing coordination in relation to the live export trade. The committee also recommends that the minister offers all available support to ensure that such an association is established.
The committee recommends that Minister Creed directs further funding to research with regard to improving sexed semen techniques. The committee is firmly of the view that enhanced sexed semen techniques will be vital to the future of the beef sector.
The committee believes that the prospective agreement, as it stands, will have unintended consequences.
One such unintended consequence which is of particular concern to the committee is that a substantial amount of less carbon efficient beef will be introduced to the EU market, and the committee feels that this is unacceptable given the EU’s, and Ireland’s, increased focus on addressing climate change.
The committee supports the decision of Minister Creed to establish the CAP Post-2020 Consultative Committee and recommends that the minister endeavours to ensure that the concerns of all stakeholders are considered in the formulation of Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan.
The committee recommends that the department engages on a cross-departmental level with the farming, environmental and scientific communities to develop a plan for the agricultural sector to align it with meeting Ireland’s Paris Agreement commitments.