Face challenges to halt stagnation in NIreland
Face challenges to halt stagnation in NIreland
NORTHERN Irelands agriculture industry is heading for stagnation and decline unless it can meet challenges head on.
That was the stark warning of the provinces farm minister, Brid Rodgers, as she presented the findings of a new "Vision" report into the future of the provinces agri-food industry.
The study identifies several key challenges for the next decade.
These include the £:k exchange rate, which has accelerated the recent decline in farm incomes, and globalisation, which will result in more competition from abroad.
Consumer demands are also changing, says the report, while modern farming practices will be increasingly under the spotlight.
And, as the CAP comes under pressure from EU enlargement and the WTO, support for farming "will evolve towards a position where market forces alone determine the price of agricultural produce".
To respond to these challenges, the group calls for a single vision: "to create a dynamic, integrated, innovative and profitable agri-food industry, focussed on delighting customers in an evolving global market place". *