Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 77: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the progress that has been made in relation to brand Ireland's proposal contained in the Food Harvest 2020 report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45043/10]

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

Food Harvest 2020 identified the importance of marketing Irish food and drink products and of creating very strong links for those who buy our products between food, high environmental standards and sustainable production. The idea of going further and creating an umbrella brand for Irish food and drink has potential. Creating a brand would involve detailed assessment and planning, considerable realignment of industry, producer and State resources and would have to have full regard to EU state aid rules which do not allow marketing of agricultural produce based on origin alone.

There are various approaches to building and sustaining a brand, each with different strengths and Bord Bia is examining in detail how some well developed brands work. What is emerging is that to be successful an umbrella brand must be both credible and distinctive and Bord Bia is developing possible models for testing in international markets to better understand what is of most significance to consumers and traders when purchasing food and drink products.

The sustainability of production will be a key theme in any brand and Bord Bia has undertaken an extensive pilot audit of 200 farms in conjunction with Teagasc and the Carbon Trust to demonstrate this in the beef sector. From January 2011 the environmental performance of all 32,000 farms participating in the Bord Bia Beef Quality Assurance Scheme will be tracked on an ongoing basis to demonstrate in an objective way the green credentials of Irish beef production. This will provide an objective assessment of their carbon footprint and enable beef farmers to demonstrate how they are improving their environmental credentials and increasing productivity. Ongoing communications with participating farms will be a core part of the programme. The initiative will provide both an important new marketing opportunity for beef and feedback on the values which could underpin a general approach to differentiating our food and drink products.

Food and tourism are two of our key industries and I am pleased that Bord Bia is also working with Fáilte Ireland and with food tourism stakeholders to inform and assist in their development of a Food in Tourism Strategy to promote Ireland as a source of locally sourced, natural and distinctive food and as an exceptional food experience to visitors.