The first NIGTA Trade Awareness Course has been fully subscribed and interest from members is such that a second course will be planned for later in the summer.
If you wish to send delegates to this event please let us know and we will try to organise it to suit the businesses involved.
The NI Grain Trade Association celebrated its 50th annual dinner with the appointment of four new honorary members.
NIGTA President, Alan Johnston is pictured centre with from left: David Malseed, Patrick Montgomery, Richard Scott and Robert Barnett.
NIGTA's 50th Annual Dinner
Congratulations to Owen Brennan on receiving the Belfast Telegraph Cup.
Owen is a long time member of our executive committee and has served three terms as President of NIGTA. The award is made for outstanding achievement in the agri food sector and was presented to Owen at the Ulster Farmers Union annual dinner.
Making the announcement, UFU President Ian Marshall said “From starting life on a small family farm in Carlow to heading up the multi-national company, Devenish Nutrition, trading in 25 countries worldwide, with a turnover of £150 million and 350 staff, Owen is a stalwart of Northern Ireland’s agri food industry.
“His vision, co-operation and interest in the future of the agri-food industry are what make him and his business unique. His investment in research facilities and his willingness to give personal support to progress the agri food industry are also widely recognised.
“Owen also gives up his time freely to any projects that will benefit the agri-food industry. He has served as President of the NI Grain Trade Association, chairman of the Livestock and Meat Commission and currently he is a member of the Agri-Food Strategy Board, Based on this resume I cannot think of a more deserving winner for this year’s Belfast Telegraph Cup.”
The wide range of support services, and the groups and individuals that have been assisted by Rural Support were outlined by Jude McCann, Development Director, Rural Support, at the Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association’s recent annual general meeting and lunch.
Jude pointed out that Rural Support had 33 volunteers who assisted with a very wide range of problems for farming and rural families across all of Northern Ireland. There is a helpline available from 8.00AM to 11.00PM seven days a week with voicemail and support options available at all other times. It offers a listening ear and signposting service for issues such as farming information and technical queries, financial matters, physical and emotional health, suicide risk and family /relationship issues.
Jude emphasised that Rural Support's vision is to contribute to a healthy, sustainable rural community by providing individual support and promoting positive mental health and well-being. He added “We provide confidential non-judgemental support to farmers and rural dwellers. At present 33 volunteers give their time, knowledge, expertise and experience to those who require it. They undertake helpline cover, finance mentoring, work/life balance guidance, counselling, promotion and outreach.”
The key drivers of rural stress have been identified as; 1) Shifting Policies and Financial Pressures, 2) Instability, Risk and Uncertainty, 3) Increasing Isolation and Service Provision and 4)Family Pressures.
A review of helpline calls revealed that almost 40% of callers highlighted Farm Finance and Debt issues as the main reason for calling. Other reasons included relationship problems, mental health issues, paperwork, government schemes, inheritance and succession, health and isolation. More recent issues emanating from CAP reform have added to some of the problems.
Volunteers are matched to the person, group and problem eg. Rural Support has nine finance mentors who assist with financial problems. Jude added “ Rural Support can claim to have saved lives, marriages and businesses in addition to helping callers find a better quality of life.”
Alan Johnston, President of NIGTA thanked Jude for his time and excellent presentation and announced that Rural Support is the chosen charity for support at NIGTA’s annual dinner in April.
At the annual general meeting Alan Johnston was re-elected as President and David O’Connor as Vice President. David Malseed announced his retirement from the post of Honorary Secretary and it was unanimously agreed that his contribution to the Association - as a Past President, Honorary Secretary and Executive Committee member would be missed by the Association. Patrick McLaughlin was elected as the new Honorary Secretary and Stephen Burrell was re-elected as Honorary Treasurer.
NIGTA Rural Support Meeting March 2015
Alan Johnston, President of the NI Grain Trade Association was delighted to inform the charity, Rural Support, that the donations from members and guests at NIGTA's 50th Anniversary dinner realised £5000.
A delighted Jude McCann, Development Director with the charity said that this generous donation would assist Rural Support to continue its work in providing individual support and promoting positive mental health and well being in the rural community.
"Our help line which is available from 8.00AM to 11.00PM seven days a week covers financial matters, physical and emotional health, suicide risk and family relationship issues.On behalf of the charity I would like to thank NIGTA for this generous support."
Alan Johnston thanked Rural Support for the valuable work they are doing in the rural community and said that he wished to extend that thanks to all of the guests and members at the NIGTA dinner who had contributed so generously.
At the NIGTA annual general meeting Alan Johnston was re-elected as President and David O’Connor as Vice President.
David Malseed announced his retirement from the post of Honorary Secretary and it was unanimously agreed that his contribution to the Association - as a Past President, Honorary Secretary and Executive Committee member would be missed by the Association.
Patrick McLaughlin was elected as the new Honorary Secretary and Stephen Burrell was re-elected as Honorary Treasurer.
NIGTA Rural Support Meeting March 2015
The recent visit of the new EU Agriculture commissioner to Belfast allowed the opportunity to raise NIGTA’s concerns on a number of issues.
In a question and answer session with businesses in the Agrifood sector we raised the question of official controls and charging for regulation - stressing that more recognition needs to be given to existing schemes run by the industry and that there was the opportunity for regulators and businesses to share information on risk assessment and the results of surveillance and sampling programs. This approach could deliver better value for everyone.
The commissioner responded that he was committed to reduce regulation and that he would be using his best efforts to delay any charging for regulation until the system had been reviewed and streamlined so that controls would be efficient and cost effective.
We raised the issue of environmental regulation and commented that regulators failed to recognise the good work which had been carried out by industry. In particular the massive increase in output from the agrifood sector in Northern Ireland had been achieved with minimal environmental impact and the fact that 80% of this output was consumed outside the province was not fully recognised. The commissioner appeared to be sympathetic to these comments and stressed the need for agriculture to grow and not be penalised by unreasonable regulation.
The commissioner also attended an event hosted by Queens University featuring the work of Moy Park and Devenish Nutrition in developing functional foods which bring health benefits to the consumer. This included a presentation on the Food Fortress program which has been adopted by the local feed industry.
“The feed trade in Northern Ireland is led by a highly effective and well coordinated body delivering benefit to businesses in the sector and agriculture in general”. These were the words of David Caffall, Chief Executive of Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) speaking to a meeting of the Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association (NIGTA) which is its affilaited organisation in the province. “The recent agreement on a closer working relationship between AIC and NIGTA whereby businesses are offered joint membership of both organisations – ensures that they have a voice not just locally but also in Whitehall and Brussels. The significant increase in the NIGTA membership in the last year would suggest that this has been well received by the trade”.
He added “The development of assurance schemes to safeguard the industry, the formation of a feed adviser register which recognises and develops expertise in advice delivered on farm and the proactive response to the environmental issues around Greenhouse Gas and the Nitrates directive are all evidence of the positive role the trade has played in the wider industry – and of course the Food Fortress program developed with Queens University, has put the Northern Ireland in a world leading position in the field of feed and food safety”.
Mr Caffall spoke of the volume of legislation which businesses are subject to - “The environment regulations apply not only to farms but also to feed mills and are ever more restrictive and expensive to comply with. Concerns about the build up of antibiotic resistance in humans (AMR) will mean significant changes to the procedures for ordering and production of medicated feeds which will inevitably add to costs. We continue to lobby hard to ensure that regulation does not damage the competitiveness of businesses in the feed and supply sector. On the positive side we are pleased to see increased recognition of the excellent assurance schemes which we have created to ensure high standards of quality and safety throughout the trade. We have convinced the regulators that businesses with a good record of compliance and who are members of the relevant assurance schemes are low risk and should receive a “lighter touch” in terms of inspections. This is an important principle - given that we can expect the cost of official controls to be borne by the industry in the future”.
Mr Caffall will deliver one of the keynote papers at next weeks prestigeous Oxford Farming Conference on the theme of "Supply Chain in the Balance" which will explore the threats and opportunities which face the industry.
NIGTA December Meeting 2014
- You are here:
-
Home
- NEWS-UPDATE