Coveney Launches Food Wise Implementation Plan

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, today announced the publication of the Implementation Plan for Food Wise 2025.  Food Wise 2025, the new strategy for the development of the agri food sector over the next decade, was drawn up by an independent committee of stakeholders and experts, and launched by the Taoiseach in July this year.

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“The Food Wise Implementation Plan forms the final part of the Food Wise strategy process”, Minister Coveney said. “It sets out a robust implementation process, driven by a High Level Implementation Committee (HLIC) which I chair personally, involving senior officials from all relevant Government Departments and State Agencies”.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney T.D. at today's launch of the FoodWise 2025 Implementation Plan.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney T.D. at today’s launch of the FoodWise 2025 Implementation Plan.

Sustainability is at the core of Food Wise which states that “environmental protection and economic competitiveness should be considered as equal and complementary: one will not be achieved at the expense of the other.” Food Wise 2025 therefore set out a range of specific recommendations aimed at managing the projected growth in a sustainable way, while protecting and improving the environment.

As part of the Food Wise 2025 process, a draft Environmental Analysis Report (incorporating a Strategic Environmental Assessment and an Appropriate Assessment) was prepared in parallel, and this environmental assessment was taken into account in drafting the Food Wise report.  The final Environmental Analysis Report (revised following a public consultation process) is also being published today on the Department’s website.

The Implementation Plan includes a supplementary list of Food Wise 2025 sustainability actions and recommendations, in response to the final Environmental Analysis report”, the Minister concluded. A Sustainability Sub Group of the HLIC will focus specifically on monitoring and driving the implementation of the sustainability actions. “Ireland is a clear global leader in producing food sustainably, but the implementation of the Food Wise strategy will challenge us to be even more ambitious in improving and measuring our sustainability credentials.”