Rodgers pays tribute to NI Institute of Agricultural Science

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Bríd Rodgers was the guest speaker at the Northern Ireland Institute of Agricultural Science Annual Conference in the Seagoe Hotel Portadown on November 21.

The Minister paid tribute to the Institute for organising a conference with a highly topical theme – ‘Sustainable Agriculture’.

She said: “I know that your annual conference has gained a reputation for addressing key issues affecting the agri-food sector in Northern Ireland with recent topics having included genetic modification, organic production, farm succession, and marketing structures within the red meat sector. Your conference theme this year builds on this reputation by addressing the key issue of agricultural sustainability and all that it entails. Sustainability is an issue that is moving further up the policy agenda and, indeed, is one of five major challenges identified in the report recently submitted to me by the Vision Group which I initiated in December 1999 to set out a strategic development pathway for the industry over the coming decade.

"The publication of the Vision Report marked the first stage in the creation of a new vision for the agri-food industry, which will underpin our future strategic development over the next five to ten years. I hope you are all taking the opportunity to study this challenging and wide-ranging report and its recommendations very carefully during the current consultation process. What we need at the end of the consultation process is a common and realistic vision of where we want the industry to be in ten years time and a broad agreement of the steps we need to take to make the vision a reality. I know that members of the Northern Ireland Institute of Agricultural Science will play a vital role as we move forward in partnership to what we all hope will be a better future."

The Institute, in association with the Agricultural Science Association in the Republic of Ireland and Co-operation Ireland, has recently formed Agrilink, a cross-border linkage initiative that seeks to further the aims of both bodies throughout Ireland. A journal is published regularly which contains a record of activities and relevant articles. (CD)