Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 460: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the initiatives he is taking to work with the agrifood industry; the efforts he is making directly or in conjunction with his EU colleagues to promote the agri-food sector here; the correspondence he has had with these organisations to address their concerns on the future of the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28191/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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It is my function as Minister to continue to plan to help the sector remain competitive so that it can capitalise on the inevitable global recovery and meet the challenges in the coming decade. Addressing the industry's capacity to compete successfully at home and overseas has assumed a new urgency and my belief is that a new development plan for the period to 2020 is required to maintain the impetus gained from the very successful Agri-Vision 2015 strategy. Preparatory work has already started on this plan which is focusing on the critical issue of competitiveness, the challenges from the global economic downturn, currency fluctuations, climate change and how best to maximise the opportunities arising from a growing international food and energy crop markets. There will be a role for all major stakeholders in this process.

My own view, which I have expressed at meetings of the Council and bilaterally to my Ministerial colleagues, is that we must maintain a strong agricultural production base in the European Union in the future to take account of the challenges ahead in meeting increased demands for food. Any reduction in food production in the EU would be taken up elsewhere where less efficient production systems exist and would result in a heavier carbon footprint. We must also undertake food production and distribution in a manner that is sustainable in all its dimensions – economically, socially and environmentally.

There will be major challenges ahead from climate change, increased competition on world and EU markets, the financial crunch and other factors. We must ensure that we have the capacity to cope with the challenges and fully exploit the opportunities as they emerge. To do so our whole sector, from farm to fork, must be highly efficient and competitive. It must also be innovative, producing the products that changing consumer tastes demand, and it must be relentlessly focused on quality and safety.