Making Submissions

All submissions received will be made publicly available on this website .

Submission should be

In Word format and preferably in Times New Roman, size 12 font.
Submitted to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food either in electronic form to 2020@agriculture.gov.ie or in hard copy to Economics and Planning Division, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Floor 6Centre, Agriculture House, Dublin 2
All submission should be marked "Submission on 2020 Strategy"
Received in Department by 31 March 2010

Submissions on all aspects of policy development are welcome and will be fully considered. Those which are directed towards future policy options and which realistically address some of the key questions and challenges facing the sector, will be the most useful in formulating the industry's future strategic direction.

2020 questions

The following questions are asked in the five discussion papers which are offered as an initial input to the 2020 Strategy and which can be found on www.agriculture.gov.ie/2020strategy . These questions are offered for guidance only, and those making submissions are welcome to offer their input on any aspect of the future development of the sector.

Economic and International Context

What should be the contribution of the agriculture, food and fishing sector to the national economy by 2020 and what employment and export targets should be set?

What is needed to fulfil the capacity of the agriculture, food and drinks, fishing and forestry sector to contribute to the Smart Economy Framework and to the export led economic recovery?

What are the implications for our sector strategy from likely changes in EU agriculture policy (CAP post-2013) and WTO?

Food Sector

How important is consolidation in dairy and beef processing and how can we achieve it?

How do we maximise the scale of a viable fish processing industry?

To what extent should food and drinks exports aim to deepen the focus on EU market or to diversify more widely?

What steps can be taken to ensure the further growth of international food product companies in Ireland ?

What should be the future strategic focus for developing prepared consumer foods (pcf), ingredients, functional foods etc?

How can we capitalise on the future potential in the pork, poultry, cereal, horticulture and organic markets in terms of both import substitution and export possibilities?

What is the potential for development of SMEs, including indigenous micro and speciality food enterprises and organic producers?

What are the likely consumer, retail and other market developments that are most likely to impact on the Irish food sector to 2020?

Innovation

How can the State's return on public good research be maximised?

What actions should be taken to improve the level of private sector investment in research in the food and drink sector into the future?

What technology developments might significantly impact on the agri-food, forestry and fisheries sector by 2020 ?

What should be the innovation and research priorities in the sector for the next ten years?

What more can be done to improve the transfer of knowledge and best practice at farm and factory floor level?

Environment

How best can Irish agriculture contribute to achieving the EU target reduction of 20/30% in GHG emissions, while maintaining a viable farming sector?

How should Ireland align increased food production for a growing global population with the demands of climate change and the sustainable use of natural resources?

What is the scope for agriculture-based bio-fuels? Is biomass the most realistic option and on what scale by 2020?

Does climate change adaptation offer new possibilities for Irish agriculture?

Commodities

What should be the scale of our ambition on dairy for 2020? What would be a realistic but ambitious level of production after quotas are abolished? What is the best balance between added value / functional foods etc, and commodity production based on low-cost but seasonal production ?

What is the best path to profitability at farm level for beef and sheep production, given poor returns in recent years? Does the trend in international and EU demand offer realistic opportunities; how should we capitalise on them and at what scale?

How important is farm structure? How do we achieve optimum farm structure for efficiency and competitiveness?

What is the realistic scale of a 2020 Irish based fishing fleet?

Can forestry (for biomass and timber) offer a viable alternative to beef/sheep, recognising the current level of public support?

What is the future for cereal production in Ireland in the light of current returns, technology challenges and opportunities and climate change?