Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Question 172: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has an estimate available of the capital requirements to increase and expand processing and handling systems in the dairy industry as projected in Food Harvest 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38171/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Food Harvest 2020 has a target of a 50% increase in milk production by 2020. I believe this target can be achieved through a focused and determined implementation of the report's recommendations for the dairy sector, which include:

(i) the need to improve on-farm competitiveness through, for example, animal health and genetic improvement programmes as well as increased efficiency through education and technology transfer,

(ii) the need to ensure adequate capacity and maximum efficiency at processing level,

(iii) the need to facilitate more commercially focused R&D and marketing activities, as well as further research into strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

It is a matter for the dairy processing industry as to what their capital requirements will be to ensure the provision of adequate processing capacity. However, it is encouraging that the importance of the issue has been acknowledged in the Dairy Expansion Activation Group's Road Map for the implementation of Food Harvest 2020 in the dairy sector, which contains specific actions required at processing level. I am confident that the processing industry will respond as necessary and will work with the rest of the sector to ensure that the Food Harvest 2020 objectives are met.