The agriculture and food sector is the most important indigenous industry and it is presently enjoying the highest growth rate of all the industries in the Irish economy.
The industry needs a long-term vision and an operational roadmap for training young PhD students to the highest level if it is to compete with old competitors such as New Zealand and newer ones, such as Africa. This is not being done and it is the one change I would like to see.
For the majority of food companies, research is dominated by very short-term needs and the high-risk, long-term research is deemed to be simply too expensive. Only the top-branded companies such as Nestlé, Danone, Unilever, Coca Cola, Pepsi, Kraft and Mars can focus on innovation.
This raises a challenge for young researchers in food and health and it requires some level of innovation in their training to ensure that they maximise their career prospects.
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