Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

Tá áthas an domhain orm a bheith anseo chun tús a chuir leis an díospóirecht seo, atá tábhachtach domsa agus don tír. Os rud é go mbeidh mé ag bualadh le bainisteóirí contae agus cathrach san athbhliain chun an cheist seo a phlé, is mian liom tuaraimí an tSeanaid a fháil roimh ré. I welcome the opportunity for a debate on the merits of developing local food economies and direct sale options for producers. One direct sale option which appeals to many consumers and producers alike is the farmers' market. Others include farm shops, box schemes and community supported agriculture or CSA as they call it in Canada, the USA and Britain, which includes encouraging local abattoirs.

Before specifically focusing on the merits of farmers' markets I want to put the timelines of this debate in a wider context. Just this week the head of the International Food Policy Research Institute, Mr. Joachim von Braun gave us a stark message. His report, called the World Food Situation, says the risks of food riots and malnutrition will surge in the next two years as the global supply of grain comes under more pressure than at any time in the past 50 years. Recent pasta protests in Italy, tortilla rallies in Mexico and onion demonstrations in India are just a start.

In summary, the International Food Policy Research Institute report cites three main reasons for the shortages that are pushing up food prices. The first is rising consumption as the appetite of fast-growing nations, such as China, is rising as economic booms cause a surge in demand for meat and dairy products. The second is competition from bio-fuels as the cars of the rich are now rivalling the bellies of the poor for corn, cane and edible oils. The third is climate change as global warming is putting pressure on water needed to irrigate crops.

The world has been consuming more than it produces for the past five years and the globalised food industry cannot satisfy global demand. Local food growing and food marketing economies need to be developed to provide more staple foods for consumers and easily accessible markets for producers.

The local food concept is becoming increasingly popular throughout the country as Bord Bia showed in a recent survey. The evidence for this can clearly be seen in the number of farmers' markets — now over 130 — public, private and community markets in this country. I have long been an advocate of farmers' markets and would go as far as saying every good-sized town should have one as part of its food experience. Markets help to re-connect consumers with local food producers, offering small producers a platform to test out their products, innovate and better understand consumer demand. In a very direct way markets can also keep us in touch with the seasonality of nature and the taste of fresh local food.

The experience to date of farmers' markets, farm shops and box schemes, suggests that they can provide wide-ranging and long-term benefits, on both a local and regional level, which can be measured socially, environmentally and economically. These benefits include access to in-season quality fresh food, fewer air miles and, therefore, reduced carbon footprints, more money circulating in local economies, increased employment regionally, the preservation and development of regional specialties and an enhanced level of choice for consumers. Farmers' markets also provide the perfect platform for small food producers to receive extremely valuable feedback directly from the consumer that can lead to improvements in quality and the way the business is run.

In the last year my Department, in conjunction with An Bord Bia, has hosted various regional food fora, which had the objectives of highlighting the importance of small food enterprises, providing guidance for best practice in regional food marketing development and encouraging food entrepreneurship for the creation of national and regional wealth. This approach emphasises bringing together small food producers and local development agencies under one roof for presentations from experts, brief case studies from local food entrepreneurs and question and answer sessions. This approach was successful in that it provided participants with opportunities for networking and showcasing regional produce.

These regional fora cumulated in a national conference last November. This was the first national conference to be organised on the topic of local food and almost 300 people attended, representing producers, retailers, consumers and agencies. The aim of the conference was to raise awareness and understanding of local food as defined by the consumer, highlight the benefits to producers, retailers and the consumer, and offer practical information and advice to those wishing to sell food in their local areas.

I am conscious of the desirability of sourcing food locally. In that context, I have a particular interest in promoting and ensuring the viability of local abattoirs. Under the EU hygiene package, all approved establishments, regardless of size, may now export produce, provided it is accompanied by appropriate certification. The hygiene package ended the previous differentiation between local abattoirs that were only permitted to trade on the domestic market and export-approved abattoirs. My Department is considering whether there is scope for support for abattoirs in regard to specific activities under the marketing and processing scheme operated by the Department.

Direct sales are important for some producers, particularly for horticultural products. However, several factors can limit the development of this channel. One example is access to market stalls and suitable facilities and this was an issue raised at the food fora. As local authorities have powers under the Casual Trading Act, I intend taking this issue up with local authority managers and mayors early in the new year. I will impress on local authority colleagues the need for running water and power points at markets.

I seek to promote a level of consistency for all local authorities in dealing with farmers' markets. I take encouragement from other countries such as France where local authorities take their food remit seriously and provide water and lighting. In Italy, new legislation to improve the already well established farmers' market network is about to be introduced. I hope to have a forum in place in early 2008 that will go through an agenda dealing with the areas of common interest between local authorities and my Department. In this regard, my Department is currently surveying every known farmers' market to ascertain and compile a detailed database of statistics. This information will then be used to guide Government policy at both local and national level.

The importance of farmers' markets has long been recognised by my Department. The organic marketing development group, which is funded by my Department, made a significant contribution to An Bord Bia's Guide to Selling through Farmers' Markets, Farm Shops and Box Schemes in Ireland. This guide is available on An Bord Bia's website and I hope Members will have an opportunity to read it. The purpose of the guide is to assist growers, producers and other food entrepreneurs, both organic and conventional, who wish to set up in business through those outlets. Information and advice is presented in a concise, easy-to-use format, with step-by-step action plans, useful checklists and relevant guidelines. Both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are covered. The guide gives a clear understanding of what is involved in selling through farmers' markets and points traders in the right direction should they require more detailed advice or information.

There seems to be a widespread impression that all produce sold at farmers' markets is organic. The reality is that generally only a minority of stall-holders offer organic food. It is important, therefore, both for consumers and stall-holders, that this distinction is obvious at the markets. Consumers themselves can play a positive role in regard to correct labelling. If they have any doubt whatsoever of the validity of an organic product on sale at a farmers' market, they can ask the seller to show them a copy of the producer's current organic licence. If the consumer is not fully satisfied with the documentation produced, or if the seller is not in a position to provide the necessary documentation, my advice to consumers is to walk away without purchasing the product and notify my Department of their concerns. It is an offence to display produce for sale labelled as organic if it is not certified by a registered organic certification body. My objective is to ensure consumers can have full confidence in the organic food they buy. My Department has assigned additional staff resources to its organic unit and officers of the Department are now systematically inspecting retail outlets, including farmers' markets, to ensure all product identified as organic has been produced fully in accordance with the organic regulations.

The Government is fully committed to developing the organic sector in Ireland. In the programme for Government, we pledged to increase the land area under organic production from the current figure of less than 1% to 5% of total agricultural area by 2012. As the demand for fresh local and organic produce grows, so do the opportunities for local producers. The organic retail market was estimated to be worth some €66 million last year, compared to €38 million in 2003. By 2012, the organic market is expected to be worth €400 million. At present, however, 70% of the organic produce consumed in Ireland has to be imported.

The Irish people have a fundamental choice to make. We can continue to hope other countries will be in a position to meet our demand for organic and non-organic produce, whether onions, asparagus, tomatoes, cucumbers or even potatoes which are sometimes imported into Ireland. Alternatively, we can put in place the options for farmers to diversify. Several farmers I know provide enough produce for local shops and local farmers' markets. Some of these have the capacity to guarantee continuous supply to supermarket chains, others do not. My job is to help all farmers, large and small. We need them all and we need more people to take an interest in growing food in the years ahead. Farmers' markets are a way to help more farmers and growers to get access to the market. When we support or even help to establish a farmers' market, we are helping not just our own community to develop in a way that is healthy for all concerned but, globally, we are doing something small but practical to improve food security in Ireland and worldwide.