A MAJOR economic forum on Irish farming and the food industry has been organised by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) on the lines of the recent Farmleigh conference.
The agriculture sector felt it had been ignored at that forum and its potential to drive exports and jobs and help the national recovery had been downgraded or overlooked.
The event, to be held on Tuesday, November 3rd, in the RDS, Dublin, will bring together hundreds of businesses depending on farming to highlight the sector’s importance to the economy.
The forum, Harnessing Farming, Food and the Green Economy: A Smart Route to Recovery, is taking place at a time when the industry and our economy are experiencing the worst economic crisis in a generation, IFA president Pádraig Walshe said yesterday.
“With the right policies from Government, farming and food, and sectors closely related to the countryside including tourism and green energy, have huge potential to help lead the recovery of the Irish economy,” he said.
“The objective of the forum is to chart a course for growth and recovery by identifying the blend of Government and other policies that will ensure that farm families will remain in a position to contribute to the extra exports and jobs essential to the upturn of our economy,” he said.
“Irish farmers are among the best and most efficient in the world and are ready and able to drive sustainable increases in production to meet the growing world food demand. What they need at home is an environment that supports primary production and recognises the valuable role it plays in providing raw material for our largest indigenous industry,” he added.
The forum will look at the challenges for Ireland as a world-class player in farming and agribusiness.
Among the line-up of successful industry leaders will be Owen Killian, chief executive of Aryzta AG; Stan McCarthy, chief executive of Kerry Group; John Moloney, group chief executive of Glanbia; John Horgan, chairman and managing director, Kepak Group; Peter Queally, chairman of Queally Group; Andrew Langford, chief executive of FBD; Dan McSweeney, chief executive Carbery Group; and Gavin Duffy, of the TV series Dragons' Den.
Minister for Agriculture and Food Brendan Smith will also address the conference.
