Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professor Boyle for his excellent presentation. It is heartening to hear about the commitment of Teagasc and its increasing role in trying to assist people in the most underdeveloped countries. We are carrying out a review of Irish Aid and one of the areas in which we will be making a recommendation to the Government is agricultural development. We will be asking the Government to intensify its engagement with Irish agribusiness companies to ensure best practice in Ireland and to continue the good work being done with Teagasc in that area. Some of us were in Malawi and Mozambique in November. It was heartening to visit the international potato centre to see the breeding of potatoes and from where that knowledge had been transferred. There was a hunger for knowledge of crop husbandry, particularly among the female population. Those involved in the international potato centre told us that when they were trying to impart knowledge and get out more information on diseases and crop husbandry, they held classes in fields which they hoped women rather than men would attend because generally the men were less attentive. They could rely on the women to be attentive and take in the knowledge being given in the class which was held in a field and knew that as a result there would be a better return. We saw it first-hand in the breeding of potatoes. It is now a big ingredient of much of their diet and heartening to know that it came from our own country.

Like any State organisation, Teagasc has particular challenges; therefore, it is a very welcome development that it is devoting some of its resources to work overseas. It is an add-on to Irish Aid and foreign policy. Professor Boyle mentioned the Irish Forum for International Agricultural Development which Teagasc has established. Is there anything similar being done by its sister organisations internationally, with a focus on the transfer of knowledge and co-operation with the least developed countries? During the years there has been a lot of collaboration with some of the counterparts of Teagasc in northern Europe, including Scandinavia. Is there potential in that respect?

Professor Boyle has mentioned that in the 2000s there was not the interest in the agrifood sector that there should have been. In 2009 or 2010 Ireland was one of the countries that sought it. We held one of the first plenary meetings on the sector by Ministers of the OECD. Perhaps there is potential, internationally, to combine resources.

It was heartening to hear Professor Boyle talk about recently retired people giving of their time and resources. We discussed the issue with officials of the Department and some of the NGOs. There is huge knowledge and expertise in this country among individuals who are relatively young and retired. If that resource could be utilised, it would be extremely beneficial. During our visit to Malawi and Mozambique it was very heartening to see how effective and beneficial the relatively simple procedure of transferring knowledge was to communities. Knowledge in the areas of irrigation and crop husbandry made a difference to them.

I will take questions from committee members and ask Professor Boyle to respond to them.