Bord Bia’s largest and most important stakeholders are Irish farmers, according to the organisation’s CEO Jim O’Toole.

Speaking before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture on Wednesday 23 March about the State body’s strategic direction, O’Toole said Bord Bia’s goal is to help develop the highest-paying markets for primary producers, which in turn can help deliver value back to the farm gate.

“The value of Ireland’s food, drink and horticulture exports increased by 22% last year to reach a record high of €16.6bn.

“This performance was delivered amid a profoundly challenging year for the sector - most notably the impact of the war in Ukraine, inflationary pressures on producers and ongoing COVID-19 disruptions to the global supply chain,” he said.

Direction

Bord Bia’s strategic direction, O’Toole said, is closely aligned to Food Vision 2030, and its three-year strategy focuses on five key pillars.

Firstly it aims to build food brand Ireland and its reputation with customers and consumers. Origin Green, he said, will be at the heart of this activity.

“We are concentrating on further building trust through sustainability and quality assurance schemes and amplifying the work that has been done on the verified grass-fed standard. Farmer engagement is critical to the delivery of this ambition,” O’Toole said.

Secondly, Bord Bia is looking to provide better ways for its customers and clients to connect and build partnerships.

This pillar recognises how the very nature of doing business has changed, which has been accelerated by COVID-19. The emergence of the next generation of digital technology is a game changer for both businesses and business consumer marketing, he said.

“We will remain committed to some of the more traditional ways of doing business, for example, participating in key international trade shows, which remains a crucial platform for generating and building business in our sector.

“However, we are also embracing opportunity to connect with customers in new ways through digital marketing and other emerging technologies.

“Delivery of this ambition will touch every aspect of our strategic plans from how food brand Ireland is delivered around the world, to how we help clients develop their own brands,” he said.

Talent

The third area of focus is around nurturing industry talent, and developing client capability.

This includes providing relevant and useful supports and training to the industry, as well as delivering talent programmes.

Bord Bia’s talent academy ensures a pipeline of talent is being created for the industry, upskilled on relevant areas such as sustainability, supply chain marketing, insights and innovation, O’Toole said.

An executive education programme was recently established to build knowledge on climate change and sustainability at senior management and board level within the Irish food, drink and horticulture industry.

Championing inside-led innovation and building brand developments is the fourth area of Bord Bia’s strategy.

The fifth a final pillar looks at supporting the organisation and its stakeholders to execute strategy through continuous learning and development, best practice and corporate governance.