Potato farmers will spearhead the opposition to the proposed merger between the Irish Food Board, An Bord Bia, and the Irish Horticulture Board, Bord Glas, announced in the last Budget.
As part of its cost-cutting exercise, the Government has proposed the amalgamation of the horticulture board into the food board later this year. While the Bord Glas board has expressed concern about the move and Bord Bia has said nothing, there is general unease that this could be an unhappy marriage.
Irish potato growers plan to oppose the merger starting with a rally at the National Potato Conference on February 20th at Goffs, Co Kildare. Mr Jim Sheridan, chairman of the Irish Farmers' Association national potato and horticultural committee, said yesterday that the proposed merger was a "futile and damaging exercise". Mr Sheridan said the proposal showed an "incredible lack of understanding of the Irish horticulture sector by the Government.
"Horticulture is an unsupported sector with a farmgate value of €370 million. It is a very specialised sector ranging from potato, vegetable, fruit and mushroom production to nursery stock, bulb, cut flower and foliage production," he said.
He added that such a sector needed an agency concentrating solely on its promotion and development. "I fail to comprehend how a sector as dynamic as this is going to fit in with Bord Bia, which essentially promotes meat, dairy produce and beverages on the export market," he said. Mr John Coleman, chairman of the IFA horticulture committee, said the loss of Bord Glas would be bad for the industry and he feared horticulture would end up at the "bottom of the agenda" in any new arrangement with Bord Bia.
"Bord Glas has been instrumental in the promotion and development of horticulture in Ireland. Its quality assurance schemes, for example, have improved production standards and consumer confidence in our produce and has played a major role in the development of the amenity sector where promising export potential exists," he said.
"This proposed merger could have no conceivable cost-saving benefit for the Government and therefore, I cannot see the advantage of such a move," he said.
"The Government would be showing a very poor commitment to horticulture if it removes the agency promoting and developing it," he said.