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Tara McCarthy is, in many ways, the perfect choice to replace Aidan Cotter.
She has a wealth of experience both from her time as a director of the food and beverages division in Bord Bia and, more recently, as the chief executive of Bord Iascaigh Mhara.
She will lead one of the most exciting, dynamic and fulfilling sectors in Ireland. A sector that accounts for 12.3% of Ireland’s exports and 8.6% of total employment. Gross agricultural output is valued at over €7bn and the value of exports from the food and drink sectors is €10.8bn.
McCarthy is the new general of the food sector but she is facing into a very challenging road ahead.
Better to be lucky than good?
As Napoleon famously said: “I know he’s a good general, but is he lucky?”
As Bord Bia’s chief executive, Aidan Cotter has certainly enjoyed success especially in most recent years. Under his tenure, Irish food and drink exports have grown from €7.1bn to €10.8bn and Bord Bia’s role in achieving this has been noticed around the world.
He also helped devise and lead the pioneering Origin Green programme, which has gained worldwide acclaim.
But was Cotter the lucky or good general behind this growth? Was Irish farming already on an upward curve with a younger, more dynamic and hungrier workforce coming into every facet of the sector? Was it a case of the rising tide lifting all boats and Bord Bia was selling food to markets that already showed a demand for what we were producing?
In the wake of the UK electorate’s decision to leave the EU, we have seen exports to our main trading partner struggle and when the 2016 food export figures are announced, it will be difficult to see how we could have achieved any value or volume growth.
Farmer disconnect
While Bord Bia is seen as the clean image of our food sector, the one that leads trade missions to new and far-flung markets, it has much work to do to build connections with the people who allow it to market food: the farmers of Ireland.
Major disconnects remain between the two groups. It is telling that in her first statement since being appointed, McCarthy said she wanted to work with all stakeholders in the sector, listing farmers as first.
With the exception of marts and beef expert Joe Burke, farmers have very little connection, in a positive sense, with the food board.
During the series of IFA presidential election debates earlier this year, Bord Bia and quality assurance (QA) inspections were raised nightly. QA inspections were more contentious than the pay and conditions of senior staff within IFA, farm incomes or the future of farming.
While QA is about giving our beef, sheep and now milk a competitive advantage when competing on a global stage, many farmers see it as yet another layer of red tape and bureaucracy.
McCarthy will need to overcome this mindset if she is to be taken to the hearts of farmers.
Food Wise 2025
In the summer of 2015, Food Wise 2025, the successor to Food Harvest 2020, was launched. Most thought that FH2020 was ambitious, but Food Wise ratcheted up the targets again: growing our food exports to €19bn by 2025.
These targets were set pre-Brexit and sterling volatility. Despite all that, the UK remains our most crucial trade partner.
Bord Bia and the Government have been largely reactive with regards to Brexit. Our beef sector is the most exposed to the threat of a weakened sterling, and yet there has not been any visible or meaningful ramp up of promotional activities in either the UK or other European markets.
The food board has announced a grant to help companies affected by Brexit, but we need greater vision as to how our food will be marketed when the UK fully leaves the EU.
Perhaps McCarthy’s first job is to call for the redesigning of Food Wise. A target of €19bn seems unachievable in this environment and it may not yield the dividends for farmers.
Farmers want meaningful and realistic action plans, and a sense that the food they pour their heart and soul into producing is generating an income for them and their families.
Bord Bia needs to understand this, as it does its best to sell our food abroad. It’s over to Tara McCarthy from early 2017 to ensure that happens.
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