The challenge for the successor to Food Wise 2025 will be to deliver for the primary producer as well as growing the industry, according to Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed.

A public consultation on the next strategy for the agri-food sector to 2030 was opened on Wednesday.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal the Minister said returns for farmers needed to be put centre stage in the next policy.

Defending Food Wise 2025, the Minister said it had been “an unqualified success broadly speaking” for the dairy sector post-quotas. He said the beef sector had been more challenged and the next policy will have to look at how the sector is structured.

The consultation is open until 1 October and there will also be an “open policy debate” held in the Aviva Stadium on 16 October.

Last year food exports were valued at €12.11bn, against the target of €19bn set in Food Wise 2025.

The target for the value of farm production is to increase by 65% to €10bn. In 2018 it reached €8.2bn.

Farmer returns to be central to next agri-food plan

A public consultation document on the strategy for the agri-food sector as well as a progress report on the current strategy were launched on Wednesday this week, write Odile Evans and Barry Cassidy.