an editorial supplement to The Grocer From both sides now In their first joint interview, both agricultural ministers - Northern Ireland's Brid Rodgers and the Republic of Ireland's Joe Walsh - tell Helen Gregory about the level of co-operation across the border and their agenda for the island of Ireland Co-operation is a goal for many in Ireland, but it has been evident in the food and agriculture sectors for longer than most. Now, with Brid Rodgers at the Northern Ireland ministry and Joe Walsh in the Dublin office, the pair are keen to extend their joint efforts in a bid to take the industry even further forward. Indeed, they were so keen to start working together that within a week of Rodgers taking the job after the establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly a year ago, they had arranged a meeting without going through the proper channels. By hastily renaming it a bilateral informal meeting they were able to appease their mandarins. The ministers have obvious admiration and respect for one another and make time to speak regularly each week, picking up the phone for informal chats between official meetings, which they have every three months, as well as informal get togethers and ad hoc meetings. Both emphasise that it is important they work together to maintain food safety standards and declare a shared interest in research and development, promotion and marketing and animal health. Rodgers says: "Ministers north and south are clearly working together. The farming community in the north, which is quite unionist in its make-up, is seeing the benefits of co-operation on the island and this will have a huge beneficial effect on the whole peace process, and that's extremely important. "Under the new regime we can work on many areas together ­ it can be done by agreement now. No-one feels threatened by it." Walsh adds: "There's great similarity between the profile of the industry north and south, and the beef, sheep and dairy industries form the cornerstone. There's also interaction between companies north and south in processing as well as in the feed industries. "In food safety especially, people and industries have to co-operate with one another in the whole traceability issue and we are pioneers in this matter. "The Good Friday agreement and the formalisation of it has made it far easier for us because it's in everyone's best interest to ensure that the customer is well served." The pair are also keen to encourage relationships and cross-over between producers across the border and believe most are supportive of their work. Rodgers says producers are particularly supportive in the north where they are anxious that governments should move things forward and work on a common basis. She believes that from a political point of view, they see it as non-threatening and beneficial. She also acknowledges Walsh's work on a European level to get low-instance BSE status for Northern Ireland and says farmers are appreciative of this. "It does help to build a sense of common benefit for the people of ireland as a whole without threatening their political aspirations or sensitivity." Walsh adds: "We don't stand in companies' way when they want to expand across the border. We welcome developments such as Rye Valley's expansion, and in some cases it leads to a better scale of operation than a small operation." Rodgers cites a number of companies from the north which are now working in the south and vice-versa, such as Glanbia, Kerrygold and Golden Vale, and believes the border has become irrelevant to them as they are working on both sides. "There's a potato farm in Portadown which is sourcing its potatoes from both sides of the border so there's a lot of interaction commercially and obviously we would like to see that continue," she says. They are also both keen to encourage young people about to embark on a career in the food industry and support a student exchange programme in St Joseph's University, Philadelphia, where graduates from both the north and south go. Both Rodgers and Walsh agree that Ireland's image of a green and healthy country is positive and important for international promotion and one which gives them a head start in overseas markets. A joint stand at the Fancy Food Fair in New York last year was particularly popular with visitors and they do not rule out the possibility of more joint efforts at future exhibitions. The ministers recognise the Republic's food and drink promotional body Bord Bia as being beneficial and Rodgers acknowledges the absence of a counterpart in the north. "Our promotional programme is dealt with by the Industrial Development Board and Local Enterprise Development Unit. We don't have a food board, but I think there will be people soon who will put forward the idea that we should and clearly that would be very useful as it could link up with Bord Bia," she says. "We have done a bit of joint promotion and the industry in the north ­ for commercial reasons ­ would be very anxious to promote the idea of Ireland as a food island, leaving the political implications out of it. The concept of Irish is a good marketing idea when you're dealing with food. "It's important to people now with the emphasis on safety and the environment ­ things are moving more towards having to satisfy the customer's demands in that regard. We can be seen as green and clean and with our good traceability." Walsh adds: "The perception of Ireland as green is very positive and strong and with animal welfare and food safety issues we have an advantage. An awful lot of people think that BSE is caused by too intensive farming systems and the recycling of bone meal. They love to see animals contentedly feeding on the grass and about the only place you can see that is Ireland." The pair have big plans for the future and want to grow the industry, particularly in the organic and value added arena, as well as supporting rural communities. Rodgers is keen to support commodity markets as well as adding value to their products, and encouraging people to move towards the ready meals market, while Walsh highlights the work in encouraging farmers to turn over to organic production. "We also have a pronounced interest in rural development ­ as both production and processing get larger you need to work out how you're going to sustain these communities if they're going to live on the farms," he says. Rodgers adds: "There is a certain resistance to diversification and non-traditional ways of making a living, but the farming communities are now realising that if they don't grasp the opportunity to change, they will get left behind. We are going to have to complete globally more and more and it won't be easy with very small farms." "Agri-tourism will be a big area of development for us in the rural development plan. The farming community has been resisting rural development but I think they're showing definite interest now and recognise the need to be involved because things are changing. There's a lot of north-south interaction on this and joint programmes." With the advent of the major multiples setting up in Ireland, both say it has thrown up particular challenges and opportunities for producers both sides of the border. "We're trying to get the multiples to source locally and they are happy to do that," says Rodgers. "But you must ensure that the local producers can meet their demands consistently. "In the past there have been problems with the growers whereby they didn't have proper arrangements and it came to the end of the week and the stores didn't need stuff. "We're helping potato producers for example, who need to grade product. Our advisers and technical producers work with them to ensure they know what's required as well as work out agreements between them and the multiples." Walsh is proud of the fact that Irish producers are more adaptable now and more varied in their output. He cites cheese as an example, highlighting the fact that the perennial cheddar has now been joined by numerous other varieties such as blue cheese and camembert on the Irish cheese board. He also believes that the island will see more designation of products, which would appeal to visitors looking for different ideas and products, such as Connemara lamb or Dublin Bay prawns. He adds: "There has always been a high level of co-operation between the industries, north and south, but the latest developments mean you will see unique types of products and unique production in Ireland to fill niche markets, produced in environmentally friendly conditions." {{SUPPLEMENTS }}