Hogan to profile EU food security issues at Nuffield summit

Former European Commissioner for Trade and for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan is set to be the opening key note speaker for the upcoming Nuffield Agri-Summit set to take place on Friday 22 May in the Kilashee House Hotel, Naas.

Under the theme “Feed the World – Our Responsibility?” the agri-summit will bring together over 400 senior figures from farming, agri business, policy and economics for what promises to be one of the most influential and challenging agri events of 2026.

Nuffield Ireland is a part of the wider Nuffield International network, which consists of over 1,700 scholars from 16 countries across the world with the aim of promoting positive change and leadership in agriculture, farming and food.

The summit is the highlight event of the 14th Nuffield triennial hosted by Nuffield Ireland, which is a nine-day study tour for Irish and international Nuffield alumni around the island of Ireland to visit more than 30 dairy, sheep and mixed farms, agribusinesses and research bodies.

Multitude

On the day there will be a multitude of Irish and international speakers including Hogan, Dr David McWilliams, economist, author and broadcaster; Dr Tassos Haniotis, research scholar of the IIASA and special adviser with Forum for the Future of Agriculture; prof Alan Matthews, economist at Trinity College Dublin; Jim McCarthy, 1996 Nuffield scholar and CEO of Southern Harvest, Romania; Simon Coveney, former Tánaiste; Francie Gorman IFA president and Ksenija Simovic, senior policy advisor, Copa-Cogeca, Brussels, among others.

Gráinne Dwyer, chair of Nuffield Ireland, will open the event on the day. She was the first woman in Ireland to be awarded a Nuffield Scholarship in 1999 for her research “Women: Access to Agriculture.”

The event is also set to include a gala banquet featuring the fourth earl of Iveagh Edward Guinness in conversation with broadcaster Seán O’Rourke.

The summit is expected to help shape global debate and action on food security and tickets for the 2026 Nuffield Agri-Summit, including the gala banquet, are €175 and are expected to sell quickly. To register your place, visit www.nuffield2026.com.