Professor Frank O'Mara:

I thank the Chairman and members. I am delighted to be here this evening to address the committee on the challenges facing the fruit and vegetable industry in Ireland.

In the first section of my opening statement, there are a lot of statistics on the size and value of the sector. In the interests of time, I will not repeat what Ms Byrne has said.

The second section of the opening statement relates to input price inflation. In recent years, input price inflation in the horticulture sector has accelerated rapidly. It had its roots in Brexit, the pandemic and, more recently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Between 2020 and 2023, all subsectors of horticulture reported significant input price inflation. Teagasc has reported on this. The most recent 2023 report has been circulated to the committee. Output prices did not keep pace with input price inflation and a significant number of primary producers in the vegetable sector and other sectors have ceased trading. A more recent phenomenon is that while growers have exited, other growers have not taken up the acreage, and the respective crop areas have been lost. Based on direct engagement with growers, Teagasc estimates that the area of field vegetable production is down by 7% in 2023.

Access to land is a significant issue for field vegetable producers. Depending on the crop, vegetables usually require about four to six years in rotation before a crop from the same plant family can be grown in that field again. Competition for rental land is heating up significantly and growers need suitable land in the right location close to their packing and storing facilities. Besides land needing high nutritional and soil health status, access to irrigation sources is a prerequisite for these high-value crops, as periodic drought is becoming a feature of production.

While horticulture has had a level of consolidation, it has benefited greatly from over a decade of capital investment, supported by the Department's scheme of investment aid and access to producer organisation funds. The soft fruit sector has moved out of the field and under protected structures, including glasshouses. This has brought with it higher production efficiency with high quality fruit. Similarly, the mushroom sector has been at the forefront in terms of technology adoption and innovation from the composting process right through to the growing system. Glasshouse growers and field vegetable producers too have made significant investments in automation, packing and storage.

Teagasc's horticultural development department is an integrated research and advisory department providing research and advice on horticultural-related matters to support the sector and stakeholders. We collaborate and work closely with the horticulture industry across research, advisory and education. We are a member of the horticulture industry forum, which includes growers' representatives from each subsector of horticulture and other State agencies. Recently we contributed to the Department's National Strategy for Horticulture 2023-2027 that we fully support. Our horticulture research and advisory activities align fully with the concept of smart horticulture, which relates to labour saving technologies, evolving production systems, finding replacements for peat-based growing media, optimising the approach to crop protection, and increasing economic and environmental sustainability.

In terms of education, Teagasc recently launched a horticultural apprenticeship programme. The apprenticeship is targeted at anyone who wishes to pursue a career in the horticultural sector or existing personnel employed in a horticultural company who would like to gain a recognised qualification.

In terms of food loss and waste, we noted in the invitation that the committee is interested specifically in the food waste aspect at both consumer and production stages of the food chain. It is impossible to decouple horticulture food loss and waste at the primary producer side from the challenges described above for the horticulture sector. Food loss and waste is a symptom of agronomic challenges and supply chain inefficiencies, many of which are outside the control of the producer. Pest and disease issues can frequently affect crops. Inadequate crop protection strategies and up-to-date integrated pest management may be the cause, but this could be reduced with adequate access to appropriate research, advice and crop protection products.

Lack of availability of labour can and does result in crops being left in the field, or production unit. Climate change and adverse weather can also have a similar effect. This can routinely result in crop loss. However, the labour issue can be resolved in a similar way to other jurisdictions, namely, through a non-EEA permit scheme and a seasonal workers scheme. We have seen many instances where weather, market gluts and sudden changes in market dynamics can lead to increased loss. One-year supply arrangements are precarious for primary producers. Proper forecasting and long-term collaborative arrangements between producers, consolidators and retailers are needed to minimise loss and waste and to maximise economic and environmental efficiency. More understanding is required on the part of the retailers of the risks and challenges taken by primary producers and they should work with growers to accommodate the vagaries of climate and adjust product specification and requirements where possible. In line with national policy towards zero food waste and recycling of food waste in the circular bioeconomy, every opportunity possible should be taken to reduce food loss and waste and to valorise unavoidable horticultural waste. This is an area Teagasc is seeking to develop.

The horticulture strategy launched in June calls out the key challenges and opportunities for the horticulture sector in Ireland. It is consistent with Food Vision 2030, which brought much attention to the term "food system" and that "Ireland should become an international leader in sustainable food systems over the next decade". The fruit and vegetable sector chiefly supplies the domestic market delivering positive societal impacts, in this case healthy food with low environmental footprint as well as the economic benefits. Retailers and consolidators import very significant quantities of fruit and vegetables from regions of the world, some of which have come under considerable climate change pressure in recent times. The traditional international supply base for fruit and vegetables is contracting due to climate change so supporting and expanding our indigenous sector will need to be prioritised. Technologies exist to mitigate traditional comparative advantages between countries and bring production closer to consumption, underpinning shorter supply chains. We have included additional information in an appendix and circulated a Teagasc document on input price inflation in 2023. We would be more than happy to answer any questions members may have.