Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 374: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on regional and local food branding initiatives. [25402/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The development of regional and local agri-food products has an important part to play in achieving sustainable rural development and local food producers are key to this goal. This Government is committed to supporting local and regional food and Towards 2016 and my Department's Agri-Vision 2015 Action Plan include measures in this regard. Bord Bia, which operates under the aegis of my Department, works closely with other State and local agencies to exploit emerging market opportunities by providing guidance, advice and mentoring assistance.

My Department in co-operation with Bord Bia organised a national conference last November in Mullingar on the topic of exploring the opportunities in Local Food to raise awareness of local food and to highlight the benefits of local food initiatives for both the consumer and the producer. This built on a series of six Regional Food Fora held over an eighteen-month period, which brought together regional, speciality and artisan producers as well as relevant state agencies. As part of the drive to promote the benefits of local and regional food, my colleague, Minister Trevor Sargent T.D. invited local authority mayors and management to a Forum in January to engage with the growing culture of local food entrepreneurship and examine models of successful local markets. An Artisan Industry Committee is also operating under Agri-Vision 2015 to address issues for developing the artisan food sector at local level.