Ireland’s European Commissioner Michael McGrath has said that issues relating to agriculture and food security remain to the fore in discussions in the EU.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal in Brussels last week, the commissioner insisted that the focus on EU food security and agriculture have not fallen to the wayside amid increased pressure from other policy areas, like trade or defence.

“I believe it is very high up the agenda and will continue to be. I think there is a growing recognition of the importance of food security as an issue and having that food security within our own continent and within the EU,” he said.

Commissioner McGrath stated that there has been a “number of substantive discussions on agriculture and food security” at Commission-level since he formally took up office as Commissioner for Justice last December.

Opportunities

These discussions centred on “the importance of supporting our indigenous industry, supporting farmers, recognising the quality of food production that we have and also continuing to seek export opportunities for the agriculture and food industry”.

He referenced the recent simplification package for CAP and the publication of the Vision for Agriculture and Food as initiatives brought forward by Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen to support the EU’s farmers in the first 100 days of his tenure.

Commissioner McGrath said that the Luxembourger agriculture commissioner is “very familiar with the agriculture industry in Ireland and remains open for further dialogue with the [farming] community”.