The president of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has claimed that the current direction of government policy is not striking the right balance as outlined in Food Vision 2030.
The comments come as Bord Bia‘s Performance and Prospects report 2021/2022 revealed that Irish food and drink exports hit a record €13.5 billion last year.
This is a 4% increase on the 2020 figure, and equates to an average of €37 million in food and drink exports/day last year.
The value of Irish food and drink exports last year to 180 countries was 2% higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
IFA
IFA President Tim Cullinan said that the Bord Bia figures showed the importance of the food and drink export sector to the Irish economy.
“Despite all the challenges, our exports grew by 4% to a record €13.5 billion. This demonstrates the standing and reputation of our food, based on the raw materials produced by Irish farmers.
“With a massive increase in input costs – feed, energy and fertiliser – it’s critical that the price received by farmers increases across all sectors to help offset the extraordinary hike in the costs of production.
“It’s vital that the additional value generated by our food exports is delivered, in full, back to the farmer producing the raw material,” Cullinan said.
The IFA president said that agriculture is Ireland’s most important indigenous sector and needs to be “fostered and supported”.
“Our economy is very dependent of foreign direct investment, but we must balance this with an increased focus on our indigenous sectors,” he said.
Cullinan also noted the importance of environmental protection but warned that this cannot be “at the expense of the economic sustainability of our primary producers”.
“The current policy direction from the Irish Government is not striking the right balance between environmental, economic and social sustainability as set out in Food Vision 2030.
“The world will need more food and we are fortunate to have the climate and the expertise, built up on Irish farms over generations, to produce top quality food. We should be proud of this and work to support it, not undermine it,” Cullinan concluded.