Professor Dolores O'Riordan:

I will pick up on the research approach that would be needed. Where we are seeing progress from an innovation point of view in other sectors is where there has been collaboration between the private sector, Teagasc and the other research performing organisations in Ireland. We have a lot of expertise in many of the universities, and the new technological universities that could contribute to the overall requirement to advance horticultural knowledge. A key part is the role Bord Bia can play in terms of how critical it is that producers are investing in developing innovative products that someone will buy. There is no point otherwise. It is key that you start with good market intelligence, and a reverse engineering approach where you decide what products are needed and then go back along the chain. You are going beyond what might be considered traditional food research. For example, there is an adaptation of artificial intelligence, AI, within the dairy sector. There is no reason why the horticultural sector cannot be more progressive in terms of what and how it is doing from an energy consumption and sustainability point of view. There are gains to be made along the chain. However, we do not have a report sitting there to guide the growers and tell them where the big opportunity is. We have heard from Bord Bia about people who have changed and started growing chilli and garlic. There needs to be a systematic review of what could be sold, and modelling of what it would be effective to produce. It is about looking at the whole chain, looking for opportunities and taking the waste into account. We have to take a circular economy approach. If there is by-product from everything being produced, we need a use for that. You have to look at the full cycle of the fruit and vegetable and the value of it along the chain.

Packaging also needs to be looked at. There is a reason we package fruit and vegetables. In a lot of cases, as Professor Hennessy has said, it is prolonging the shelf life and reducing waste. It is about optimising packaging so it is minimising its effect on the environment while maximising the shelf life of the fruit and vegetables. In other sectors there is an active focus on what the market and consumer wants and what the export markets are. That is really needed for the horticultural sector. The technological support will come in behind that.