July / August
2008 July / August
It is heartening to see a gradual, if slow, change in attitude from the state and food sectors to the development of indigenous small food businesses. This was particularly evident at the recent Teagasc Farmfest event which saw the largest gathering of quality food producers ever held in Ireland.
More surprising is the support given by the chemical farming and food sector to the forthcoming Slowfood Terra Madre festival to be held in Waterford in September. In many ways Slowfood is the antithesis of what Irish agriculture has become over the past fifty years. Perhaps finally the importance of quality rather than quantity is sinking into the collective agricultural psyche. Perhaps belatedly we are beginning to appreciate that Irish agriculture should always have focused on small scale, quality production rather than trying to compete in a race to the bottom chasing the 'cheap food' myth.
The fact that we spend less than half of what we used to on the food that sustains us is, in itself, a frightening statistic and the health or lack of it in our population is a testament to the inferiority of the food we consume. It is not surprising that organic trainers are noting a substantial increase in those wishing to learn how to grow their own food. In organic production the greatest demand from consumers is for fruit and vegetables but, regrettably, small scale horticultural production has never been considered significant enough to warrant support from state agencies.
In this issue we identify some of the reasons for the lack of development in organic horticulture and suggest some solutions. A detailed, in depth study offering realistic solutions is needed if we are to reverse the trend of falling production. The fear is that once the present generation of ageing growers retire, we will resort to importing even more than the existing 85% of organic fruit and vegetables currently sold here.
After that, we may have to wait until the oil really does run out before the penny drops.
Cáit Curran, Editor
