Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine to resume discussions on challenges facing fruit and vegetable industry in Ireland, with focus on reducing food loss and waste

The meeting in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House will be split into three sessions to hear from:

5.30pm-6.30pm – Representatives from Irish Farmers Association (IFA);

6.30pm-7.30pm – Officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and representatives from Teagasc.

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Jackie Cahill said: “The horticultural sector is the fourth largest sector in agriculture and plays a significant role in the agrifoods economy. Last year the sector employed 17,000 people in production and supply, with output at the farm gate worth €529 million.

“This meeting will continue our examination of the challenges facing Ireland’s fruit and vegetable sector, including supports for growers, the strategy to expand by 30 per cent to meet growing domestic and export demand, diversification to meet climate action targets, and reducing food loss and waste in the production and supply chain.

“One of the areas of concern raised on behalf of growers is that a recently announced support scheme for the horticulture sector does not appear to cover white mushroom producers or growers of Irish strawberries. These are important sub-sectors which have faced the same input cost increases and pressures seen across horticulture and which have led to an exodus of growers in recent years.

“The Committee looks forward to discussing these issues and related matters with the representatives of the IFA and the officials from the Department and Teagasc.”

The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

The meeting in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.