The event set out the regional potential for food producers in counties Limerick, Clare and Galway and Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said that he firmly believed that the event “would support that the agri-food business had a huge role to play in Ireland’s economic recovery”.
The blueprint for the Food Harvest 2020 sets out a vision and high level of ambition that the industry has where a value added output is set to exceed €3billion euro. The artisan and locally produced contributions are said to add and make a valuable contribution to meeting these targets.
The Bord Bia Atlantic Way showcase event heard from speakers, Marian Byrne from the Department of Food and Marine, Bobby Kerr of Insomnia and Dragons Den on entrepreneurship, Denis Nolan of Supervalu on routes to market, Helen McDaid from Failte Ireland on food tourism, Dr Gerard Barry and Maria Kelly from Teagasc on innovation in agri food and an industry overview from Minister Simon Coveney.
The B2B event provided farmers, artisan food producers and food entrepreneurs with the information, contacts and supports to create a sustainable food production chain, to assist in delivering practical and innovative access to the regional and national markets, and offering consideration of access and growth in the export market.
To support and add to the event this week, Atlantic Way has also planned Feasta Bia for October 15 and 16 next.
In Ireland long ago, October (Deireadh Fómhair) was the culmination point of the Harvest, when the bounty of the land was gathered in, and the meat of well-fed animals was preserved and stored safely for the harsh months of winter. Tribes gathered together to share the success of all their common efforts, to thank the gods of growth and plenty, to feast and sing and tell stories, and to prepare for the Great Feast of Samhain, the mystical boundary between Light and Darkness.
In modern times, the harvest remains the same but to initiate Féasta Bia, a regional food festival and an awareness campaign of the power and potential of quality food along the Atlantic Way region. To stimulate public interest in local food production, the event is to encourage the food industry to get out there and show their wares imaginatively, to grow appreciation of local foods, to show their quality and diversity, to promote people-activities and food events along the Atlantic Coast, on this special mid-October weekend.
Michelle McDermot, organiser behind the series of events noted that “We wish to have people Tasting, Talking and Thinking about Food regionally. Tasting and sharing the best food we produce locally. Talking about the nutritious value, the many different recipes, and all the healthy-options on our doorstep. Thinking about what each of us can do individually and collectively to grow more, support more, and promote more regional food, more agricultural and horticultural products.”
Different counties and localities will all devise and action their own individual programmes within the general Féasta Bia concept. Already Galway has planned a programme of events under the title Ocras. Teams in Limerick and Clare have plans for a ‘Spudfest’.
It will also feature special menus, workshops, debates, chef challenges and planting schemes.
See www.atlanticway.com for more details as well as local press advertising.
Pictured at the Bord Bia & Atlantic Way Regional Food Event Conference in Thomond Park Limerick were: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD & Nicole Dunphy of Pandora Bell Limerick
