Members of the Agri-Food Strategy Board have been tasked with developing and taking forward proposals for a new agri-food body in NI.

The announcement was made last week by Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster and comes after her Department conducted a review of all agri-food marketing organisations in NI in 2014.

The outcome of that work is that NI should create a new organisation based around the Scotland Food and Drink model. It is probably not quite what the Agri-Food Strategy Board originally envisaged in its Going for Growth report when it called for a single agri-food marketing organisation. Despite that, board chair Tony O’Neill has welcomed the announcement, and said that the Scottish example could be replicated to great effect in NI.

ADVERTISEMENT

Scotland Food and Drink was created in 2007 and is a not-for-profit, industry-led organisation with a clear goal to grow the sector to £16.5bn by 2017. It is funded by both the public and private sector, with a membership base of 340 companies and a board made up of representatives from public and private sector bodies.

Underneath the board sits an executive group which includes senior figures from organisations such as NFU Scotland, Quality Meat Scotland, Dairy UK, the Scottish Government, plus other trade and research bodies.

Below, the executive group are the employees of Scotland Food and Drink. Their main role is to assist industry by offering expert advice and support across areas such as new product development, marketing and promotion, skills and training, and accessing new markets.

A similar organisation in NI could bring together all the various parts of industry and government currently involved in marketing and promoting our food under one over-arching body. Among the first challenges will be to find a name and brand that represents everyone and everything we produce.

Reaction

Reaction to the announcement of a new agri-food organisation has been positive. Dr David Dobbin, chair of the NI Food and Drink Association, said: “We are encouraged by this new development which will enable us to maximise the growth potential of our world-class agri-food sector.”