Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an deis labhartha ag an díospóireacht thábhachtach seo. Mar a dúirt an Taoiseach níos luaithe, "global output is expected to decline . . . and . . . global export volume to be down for the first time since 1982". In the midst of that global picture, a point I, as Minister of State with responsibility for food and horticulture, probably do not need to make is that we all need to eat. Eating well keeps us well and health is wealth. There are different ways of measuring wealth. We are focused on the financial problems today, but there are also issues that affect us all in different ways in terms of our quality of life.

The agri-food sector continues to be of great importance to Ireland. It is our most fundamental indigenous industry, accounting for 10% of total Irish exports and nearly one third of net foreign earnings of our primary and manufacturing industries. Its resilience, capability and ability to adapt to changing circumstances have contributed to increasing the value of exports by €1.5 billion to more than €8 billion since 2002. The industry is important in every county and accounts for more than 8% of employment.

The resilience of everyone whose business is food is now to be tested as never before. The competition between large retailers brings to mind the old proverb "when elephants fight, grass gets trampled". In Ireland's case, it is the farmers who are feeling the pressure and as a result our means to feed ourselves as a country is unfortunately being undermined.

As people will know, I, like many Members, enjoy growing some of my own food in my garden, but the skill needed to produce a high quality consistent, low cost crop to order on a massive scale of tens or hundreds of acres is an enormous achievement requiring skills that all too often are taken for granted. It is sobering, therefore, but important to state that the excellent growers of the fruit and vegetables we all need every day must have our support. I am talking about the farmers who are still growing. I can document others, from County Cork to County Donegal to Dublin, and in between, who are no longer growing. In many cases they have left their land uncultivated which is a tragedy not only for them and their families, but for all of us, in terms of food security. My priority is to get those farmers back into production as well as to give hope and confidence to farmers who are still producing.

The development strategies implemented for the agrifood sector and the investment in marketing, food safety and traceability have given rise not only to an overall increase in exports, but also to the development of new consumer foods, dairy ingredients and beef markets in the EU. The sector has a solid future based on its land resources, further moves to higher value products, more efficient processing and application of the results of high quality investment in food research and market and consumer insights.

On the world trading front, we are determined to continue to press for strategies that will allow Ireland retain its agricultural production base to meet the future demand for food. The weakening of sterling against the euro is impacting on the agrifood industry's competitiveness in respect of its most important export destination. The UK accounts for almost two fifths of Irish agrifood and drink exports and remains our biggest market despite diversification to other EU markets and beyond.

The national development plan provides €289 million to support investment by the food industry in capital infrastructure as well as in marketing. In the past two years, €130 million has been announced in awards for capital investment projects, including €16 million announced as recently as December for projects that will support continued investment in the food sector, add value and improve competitiveness. Each business must be run in an efficient way, must watch its costs and must make a profit. It must have a strategy with regard to deciding its place in the market and differentiating itself from other similar businesses. Reviewing one's business energy costs and, where possible, employing renewable energy sources can lead to greater profit while at the same time preparing for a post-fossil fuel future and combating climate change.

Despite the tougher economic circumstances, the Government is committed to continuing its support for the development of the horticulture sector. Under the scheme for the development of commercial horticulture, which provides national funding under the national development plan, grants of almost €6 million were paid out to 137 producers in 2008. This year, we hope to continue this funding for development, if at a more modest level than last year. The scheme for 2009 was launched in December and the closing date for the applications was 16 January. These applications are currently being evaluated.

In addition, the EU producer organisation scheme can provide an important mechanism for growers to achieve greater bargaining power in the marketplace by becoming part of a larger supply base. The need for strong and effective producer organisations is clearly demonstrated by the current problems in renewal of contracts with the multiples. This year, the scheme has more flexible terms and I hope this will attract more growers to join producer organisations. Since 2000, some 20 such organisations have benefited from funding, amounting to over €29 million. In many cases, this is European funding. Although this funding is available, it requires administrative overheads in order to satisfy the funding criteria.

The essential point is that farmers need to be inspired again, by the can-do attitude that epitomised such persons as Michael Davitt, Horace Plunkett and Bulmer Hobson. Obviously times and technology have moved on but when one reads their work, as I do, having an interest in history, it is inspiring. They were active during a time of crisis and it was their can-do attitude that, in many cases, laid the legacy for the successes we look back on and hope to emulate.

By co-operating and organising together, the whole community must play a role, along with Government, in ensuring food security and developing viable food and farming enterprises. I shall mention a small example but it is important to give examples of hope and progress. Another farmers' market will take place in my constituency on Saturday week. I know it will give a certain amount of hope and confidence to producers and consumers alike. It shows there are alternatives to the traditional multiple retail route which, unfortunately, is not serving farmers well at present. This can be judged by the number who have had to call it a day because they cannot make ends meet given the low prices they received for their produce. We need more producer organisations and community-supported agriculture, more co-operatives and value-added enterprises that can find a place in the market which will give farmers the return they need.

I refer to the role another important growth area is playing in the agriculture sector, internationally as well as in Ireland, namely, the organic sector. In recent years, well-paid off-farm work has been available to many farmers. It may not be so readily available at present or for some time to come. Farmers will, therefore, be looking for ways to make their farming activity more profitable. I urge them to look at the opportunities that exist in the organic sector, even in these difficult times. I say this because it concerns employment. "Organic Works", a study being carried out in the UK by the Soil Association and the University of Essex, is about providing more jobs in farming and through local food supply. It mentions, for example, that in the UK organic farming provides 32% more jobs per farm on a per acre or per hectare basis than the equivalent non-organic farms. There are similar figures in this country but we must correlate them. It is heartening also to see that organic farming in the UK is attracting younger people into farming and more new entrants to agriculture. Overall, it has a €2.1 billion market in the UK. The UK customer sees Ireland as a local production base. This means, again, that there is enormous potential for Irish producers to feed into that market as well as into our own.

Bord Bia research, which is my source here, shows that, for many consumers, organic food items are no longer seen as luxury items, to be cut out of the shopping list when money is tighter. I see no reason to believe that the organic sector will not continue to grow, even if at a reduced level. It is still growing faster than other sectors and that must be pointed out. Sales of organic produce rose by 82% in the two-year period to July 2008 and now stand at €104 million. In 2006, the percentage retail spend on organic food was small, perhaps, at 0.9% of total food sales but, at that level of growth, anybody who is serious about getting into a market that is growing should look at that situation.

In spite of the economic downturn there is still determination in my Department to ensure that growth areas are supported so that they, in turn, can provide jobs and confidence and the economic spin-offs in communities, particularly those in rural Ireland which has taken a hit in the current climate and requires to be supported. We are doing this in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

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