Bord Bia has announced the establishment of a new Bord Bia farmer forum which will see up to 100 farmers, producers and growers meet at a minimum of three times a year.

The aim of the forum is to give farmers a stronger voice in the organisation’s work and create structured, two-way engagement with Bord Bia scheme members.

The forum will be supported by a smaller committee, made up of forum members and nominees from farm organisations, who will consolidate feedback and agree on actions arising from each session.

An open call will be issued for farmers, growers, and producers to join the farmer forum.

Applicants must provide some brief background information on themselves and their farm enterprise, which will be treated confidentially and used to ensure the forum reflects a broad range of enterprise types, regions and perspectives. All forum members must be active farmers or primary producer businesses (full-time or part-time) and current members of Bord Bia Quality Assurance Schemes, Bord Bia said.

Further details on the application process and membership will be announced in due course.

Shared understanding

Bord Bia said the forum aims to foster shared understanding between Bord Bia and its members by discussing the issues and topics impacting farmers and the wider Irish agri-food sector.

Forum discussions will focus on areas central to Bord Bia’s work, including Quality Assurance and Origin Green, the audit experience, customer requirements, promotional activity and consumption trends.

The creation of the forum was originally proposed at an agri-food stakeholder meeting convened by Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon 13 February

Through this two-way feedback, farmers will also help guide the development of Bord Bia’s audit supports and services.

The creation of the forum was originally proposed at an agri-food stakeholder meeting convened by Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon 13 February. In response, Bord Bia said it met with a range of farm organisations to consult on how a farmer forum could best serve the needs of members.

Engagement

Bord Bia chief executive, Jim O’Toole said: “Bord Bia is committed to increasing our engagement with farmers to allow for greater farmer participation in its decision-making.

“The new farmer forum will be open to all Quality Assured members, providing a space for open dialogue, fresh insights, and constructive feedback to inform Bord Bia’s work and support Irish farmers and the wider sector. We will begin the formation of the forum in the coming weeks,” he said.