Three years after launching the Going for Growth report prepared by members of the Agri-Food Strategy Board, its chair, Tony O’Neill was back in the same room at Balmoral Show outlining the progress that has been made since then. O’Neill was the headline speaker at a breakfast event organised by the new Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

According to O’Neill, the board is on course to meet its original targets for growth and employment set out in May 2013, despite working against a backdrop of volatile prices which he described as “unprecedented”.

However, over the course of the last few years, O’Neill has frequently outlined his frustration at the slow pace of progress on a number of issues. That includes the £250m Farm Business Improvement Scheme, with just under £200m set aside for capital grants. A capital grant scheme is due to open this autumn.

“We are disappointed at how long it has taken to get here. Nevertheless, we are making progress, and elements that we wanted are built into the scheme. We are also pleased with the level of interest shown by the farming community,” he said.

He welcomed the interest shown in new CAFRE business development groups, with over 3,000 farmers set to take part. “It will contribute directly to upskilling the farming community,” claimed O’Neill.

Other projects include work on livestock genetics, poultry litter and a sustainable land-use strategy. The vision is that the production of food in NI will be undertaken in an environmentally sustainable way. This will also build on the work already done as part of the Food Fortress Scheme, a world-leading feed safety scheme developed in NI. It is all part of a positive story to relate to customers for NI food.

To that end, a company has been set up by the agri-food industry to take forward the establishment of a single marketing organisation for NI food and drink. “We are in the final stages of completing a business case for government,” confirmed O’Neill.

It remains to be seen just how much of this work can be finalised by the time the Agri-Food Strategy Board comes to an end in February 2017. By that point, Tony O’Neill will have spent five years as chair of the organisation. Presumably, some sort of industry/government-type body will emerge to have continued oversight over these various projects, although the impression given by Tony O’Neill last week was that his time heading up such a body is nearly done.

Base for growth

It was left to RUAS president Billy Robson to bring a sense of the economic reality facing family farms in NI to the DAERA breakfast event.

He said that the farming industry requires a sound base, and only then should we be thinking about significant expansion. “CAP subsidies will probably be greater than the entire income from farming in 2015/16. It is not a good place to be,” he said.

Chinese relations

While the main speaker at the DAERA breakfast event was Tony O’Neill, the main guest outside of the First and Deputy First Ministers was Chinese Consul General in Belfast, Wang Shuying.

During her presentation, she talked about 2016 being the start of a golden era in Chinese/UK relations. That follows on from a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Britain last autumn, when the focus was mainly on economic co-operation and growth in financial services.