The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney, TD, Ministers of State Tom Hayes TD and Ann Phelan TD today announced plans for a new ten year strategy for the agri food sector, aptly named Food Wise 2025.
Food Wise 2025 was officially launched by An Taoiseach, Mr Enda Kenny TD who stated; The Government is rebuilding an economy that is enterprise focused and can support sustainable full employment by 2018. This means growing each enterprise sector across the economy and creating jobs in all four corners of Ireland. Ireland's agri-food industry has led the way in Ireland's recovery. Food Wise 2025 builds on this success by identifying smarter and greener ways to deliver sustainable growth so that it can contribute to our ongoing recovery."
Speaking at the launch Minister Coveney said that “Ireland’s agri-food industryis on a sustainable journey, one that is connecting local communities across the island to vast and diverse food markets around the globe. Food Wise 2025 sets out a vision for the industry to continue along this path of sustainable growth and recognises the strategic importance of specific market and consumer insights if emerging global opportunities are to be fully realised in the decade ahead”.
Minister Coveney thanked the 2025 Agri Food Strategy chairman Mr John Moloney and the thirty-five members of the Committee for their outstanding commitment to this process.
Global demand for high quality, safe and nutritious food continues to grow rapidly and there is ever increasing demand in particular in emerging markets in Asia and Africa. The world wants more food but also wants more sophisticated food solutions to match modern lifestyles, different life-stage requirements and to deliver nutritional and health benefits.
Food Wise 2025 predicts that over the next decade Ireland can;
- increase the value of agri food exports by 85% to €19 billion,
- increase value added to the sector by 70% to €13 billion,
- increase the value of primary production by 65% to €10 billion.
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