To ask the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how her Department is working with retailers to support local farmers and their produce.

I, and my officials, have met with representatives of local supermarkets on a number of occasions. I continue to emphasise the support of local farmers and their produce and also highlight the need for a fair and equitable distribution of profits along the supply chain. To this end, I asked the Agri-Food Strategy Board to convene a Supply Chain Forum to bring together all stakeholders, including producers, retailers and Government, to work together to address the fragmentation in the supply chain and find a way forward. A second meeting is being planned and I also intend to visit Asda where I will again press for fairer returns and increased sourcing from local farmers and growers.

In 2013, I launched the ‘Switch to Local’ campaign, spearheaded by Tesco NI and in 2016, my Permanent Secretary launched Tesco’s Year of Food & Drink initiative, both aimed at encouraging consumers to choose from the wealth of high quality, innovative food which is produced in the north. My Department is providing support for the Year of Food & Drink through some activities at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) – Loughry Campus and via the Regional Food Programme (RFP). In particular, the RFP will provide funding for a number of initiatives that will seek to promote increased consumption and sourcing of local products. Many of these initiatives will take place in conjunction with retailers, large and small.

My Department, through CAFRE’s Loughry Campus, facilitates regular engagement between processors and retailers through a variety of seminars, training programmes and events, underpinning DARD’s commitment to making Loughry the Food Hub of the north. As well as informing processors about how to do business with retailers, this enables valuable networking to take place to increase retailers’ awareness of local produce. Most of the north’s retailers have also visited Loughry’s facilities, especially the new Food Innovation Centre, for events such as supplier awareness seminars.

In recent months, I and my officials have met with the NI Retail Consortium (NIRC) and NI Independent Retailer Trade Association (NIIRTA) to discuss issues including milk prices and other supply chain challenges. In addition, I met the NIRC to discuss beef labelling in the context of mixed origin cattle.

I have also written recently to all supermarkets operating in the north about the decline in vegetable prices and to Tesco following the publication in January of the findings of the Grocery Code Adjudicator following their investigation into Tesco’s activities.

DARD is committed to spreading the message about the integrity and provenance of our local agri-food, the high quality, flavours and tastes of local produce, and the green and natural countryside where our food is produced.