Thursday, March 11, 2010

Killeen Calls For Improvement In Functioning Of Food Chain

Junior Agriculture Minister Tony Killeen, T.D., has stressed the need for a considerable improvement in the functioning of the food chain so that all players, including producers and consumers, receive fair treatment.

The Clare Deputy said the demands of consumers and the marketplace generally were impacting on the investment decisions of producers in the context of environmental and welfare considerations.

“In regard to market transparency, the main concern is the need to achieve a greater balance along the chain between producers, processors and retailers. The need to involve all the stakeholders reflected the integrated nature of the food supply chain and what might be appropriately called the ‘fork-to-farm’ approach, given the increasing influence that the more discerning and demanding consumers are placing on producers and the manner in which producers are responding to the demands of the marketplace”, he added.

Minister of State Killeen continued: “Over recent years, the Department of Agriculture’s policies have driven a change of focus within the agri-food industry from being producer-focused to being consumer-focused. This was a key element of the AgriVision 2015 Strategy and I have no doubt it will feature prominently in the forthcoming 2020 Strategy”.