Lidl regional director, Ivan Ryan, has confirmed the need for significantly enhanced farm support in Northern Ireland.
Speaking at the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association (NIFDA) 2024 annual dinner, he said:
“Northern Ireland’s farming and food sectors are very progressive in nature, working from state-of–the-art processing facilities and delivering full traceability from farm to fork.
“And with that, comes great opportunity.”
Ryan went on to point out that numerous challenges also confront farming and food at the present time.
“These include market volatility, post-Brexit trading arrangements and labour shortages,” he added.
Farm support
“Funding also remains a major concern. The current agricultural support budget is well below where is should be as to allow agribusiness tackle the current nature and climate crises.
“There remains deep concern regarding the level of farm support that will be available in Northern Ireland from 2025 onwards,” Ryan continued.
Lidl established its first retail outlet in Northern Ireland 25 years ago.
Speaking after the dinner, NIFDA chair, prof. Ursula Lavery said:
“As an industry, we are asking fundamental questions about how we continue to feed a growing global population while making a positive impact on the environment, delivering for our customers, and providing good jobs for our local communities.
“Because food and drink makes such an important contribution to our economy locally, this is a critical question for our entire society.”
“Economic growth is a catalyst for change, and done properly it will contribute to greater environmental sustainability: government sets policy, business delivers.
“Investment is key to being able to build a more sustainable society, and to fund the improved public services we need.”
She added that “growth is the enabler of investment. A strong Northern Ireland food and drink industry means a stronger Northern Ireland economy, and it allows us to make our industry more sustainable by unlocking investment and innovation”.
According to the NIFDA chair, sustainability is a principle to be embraced: “We see the opportunity for Northern Ireland to be the most sustainable region for food production globally.
“With investment, supported by our continued growth, we can make that vision a reality.
“We also need to invest in our talent. Across the supply chain the industry supports some 113,000 jobs and our companies are filled with some of the brightest, hardest working people.
“We want to continue to encourage more young people to consider a career in food and drink and this will require the government addressing the apprenticeship levy scheme.”
The professor added that:
“We estimate that NIFDA members are paying in excess of £10 million per year through the levy, but in Northern Ireland, unlike in England, that money isn’t earmarked for apprenticeships.
“Our simple ask is that a significant proportion of the levy is brought back to the table to be used to support apprenticeships, which is how the scheme was supposed to work in the first place.”
