Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

Food Harvest 2020 sets out a roadmap and framework for smart, green growth of our agrifood, fisheries and forestry sectors. In the food area in particular, the report identifies the importance of marketing what Ireland has to offer. This means creating very strong links for those who buy our products between food, high environmental standards and sustainable production.

These factors fit well with the growing consumer awareness of the environment, animal welfare and ethical production methods. They can offer a key advantage, provided that we can demonstrate to our international customers we really do produce food in a sustainable way throughout the food chain and do meet the highest internationally recognised standards.

The idea of going further and creating an umbrella brand for Irish food and drink, based to a large extent on the sound environmental credentials, has potential. However, I recognise, as indeed did the Food Harvest 2020 Committee, that realisation of a brand would involve detailed consideration and planning as well as considerable realignment of industry, producers and State resources. There are also considerations regarding EU state aid rules which do not allow marketing of agricultural produce based on origin alone, and it would be premature to put multi-annual budgets for a brand in place at this stage.

Bord Bia is carrying out research into possible branding models and "co-opetition", a model of co-operation where competitors may achieve efficiencies by working together at particular points of the supply chain and which is mentioned in the report.

With the recommendations of the food harvest report in mind, I have allocated €2.5 million to Bord Bia in 2010 for special marketing initiatives. Bord Bia is also working on a new sustainability initiative to further consolidate the market position of quality assured Irish beef and the accreditation and audit work involved is being funded from within a €4.3 million special fund for quality assurance in Bord Bia's budget for 2010. From January 2011, the environmental performance of the 32,000 farms participating in the Bord Bia beef quality assurance scheme will be tracked on an ongoing basis to objectively demonstrate its green production credentials. The board is currently completing the process of accreditation to the international recognised specification, in association with the Carbon Trust in Britain. It is understood to be the first scheme of its type in the world to incorporate an objective assessment of the carbon footprint and will enable Irish beef farmers to demonstrate that they are improving their environmental credentials and increasing productivity.

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