Tom Arnold has been appointed as the independent chair of the Ireland Africa Rural Development Committee (IARDC).
The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue announced the appointment today (Monday, August 12).
Tom Arnold is an Irish agricultural economist and public policy advisor who has worked for the European Commission, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and Concern Worldwide.
He previously chaired the EU Commission Task Force on Rural Africa and Ireland’s response, the National Task Force for Rural Africa (NTTRA).
The IARDC was established arising from a recommendation in the report of the NTTRA.
In 2021, Arnold was appointed as the Government of Ireland’s Special Envoy on Food Systems.
Tom Arnold
The IARDC aims to strengthen the coordination of Ireland’s ongoing support to the transformation of Africa’s agriculture and rural economy.
The committee is comprised of representatives from both government departments, relevant State agencies, the private sector, academia and the African community in Ireland.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that Tom Arnold’s role will be crucial to the work of the IARDC in enhancing Ireland’s support and cooperation with Africa on food, agriculture and rural development.
“The African continent has been disproportionately affected by the global food crisis, resulting in hundreds of millions of people facing acute food and nutrition insecurity.
“Ireland continues to work hard to address these challenges and the IARDC will contribute to this effort.
“In bringing together key actors involved in food systems, agriculture and rural development, the IARDC serves as a vital space to maximise our collective effort and scale up the necessary solutions to food and nutrition insecurity in Africa,” he said.
Minister Charlie McConalogue added that he was pleased that Tom Arnold had accepted the government’s invitation to chair the IARDC.
“Tom’s vast experience of development work in Africa, his leadership on the task forces both in the EU and Ireland, and his acknowledged expertise on global food systems transformation makes him the ideal person to advance the development of the Ireland Africa relationship on rural development,” he said.