The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has today (Wednesday, May 25) announced the chair of the new Food Vision Beef and Sheepmeat Group.
Prof. Thia Hennessy’s new position was confirmed by Minister Charlie McConalogue as he chaired the third meeting of the Food Vision 2030 High-Level Implementation Committee.
Prof. Hennessy is currently head of the Department of Food Business and Development and chair of Agri-Food Economics at Cork University Business School.
She is a member of a number of research bodies examining issues such as the economic performance of farms, the sustainability of food production and the impact of climate change on agriculture.
Prior to joining University College Cork (UCC) in September 2016, she managed the agricultural and environmental economic research programme at Teagasc.
Minister Charlie McConalogue confirmed that the new group will meet “shortly” to begin its work.
“I know Thia will be an excellent chair of the committee and will bring a unique perspective on how we tackle the challenges facing the sector as well as capitalising on the many opportunities for beef, suckler and sheep farmers,” the minister said.
Today’s meeting was also addressed by chair of the Food Vision Dairy Group, Prof. Gerry Boyle who updated the committee on the progress made towards finalising their interim report.
As previously reported by Agriland, some 17 potential measures are being put forward to support the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the dairy sector.
The report is to propose that each measure should be evaluated within a short timeframe in terms of its emissions mitigation, implementation potential and resource requirements.
The interim report is due to be submitted to Minister McConalogue and published shortly; a final report to be presented to the minister at the end of July.
“I welcome the significant progress being made by the Food Vision Dairy Group and look forward to engaging further on its important work,” McConalogue stated.
Food Vision 2030 is a 10-year roadmap aims to make Ireland a world leader in sustainable food systems while growing agri-food exports from €14 billion to €21 billion by 2030.
As part of government strategy, detailed plans to manage the sustainable environmental footprint of the dairy, beef and sheep sectors will be produced through dedicated groups.