UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
Wednesday 29th May 2013
the Aviva Stadium, Dublin

Teagasc, the Agriculture and Food Development Authority in Ireland in partnership with the Institute of Food Research are hosting the first UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit on Wednesday 29th May, at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.

The summit is a one day conference bringing together leading UK and Irish food company executives and retailers, along with policy makers, research managers and educationalists to:

• Discuss key challenges and opportunities that exist across both islands for suppliers, manufacturers and retailers.
• Identify opportunities for enhanced business through greater collaboration.
• Understand how innovation, research and knowledge within a broader European context can create a strong platform for enhancing the competitiveness of the food sector.

The Summit will be jointly opened and addressed by the Minister for Agriculture, Food & the Marine, Mr Simon Coveney, TD and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rt.  Hon. Owen Paterson, MP.

The summit is a positive step towards building closer cooperation between the two islands in the agri-food sector, reflecting the comments made by the Taoiseach and Prime Minister in their Joint Statement of March 2012.

The theme of this first summit, is ‘Exploiting synergies for growth through innovation, research, skills and knowledge.’

The Directors of both Teagasc and IFR will then present key note addresses on models to foster innovation and strengthen synergies across the Irish Sea. This will be followed by a series of perspective presentations by leading UK and Irish food company CEOs and senior managers, focusing on a number of strategic issues for their companies and how these can be addressed through greater collaboration.

Registration is now open for the summit. There is no fee for this event but places are limited.

Issues to be addressed will include  food security, shortening the food chain, reducing  waste, a growing world population, emerging  markets, consumer trends, entrepreneurship, role of research and innovation and the trend towards  public-private partnerships. An expert panel will then discuss some of the key messages.

Three parallel workshops will focus on how the UK and Irish food industries, in partnership with their innovation support agencies, could respond to new challenges and opportunities.  The workshops will focus specifically on:  ­

• People, Entrepreneurship and Skills for a Growing Food Industry (including mobility, sharing of best practice and education/research/business staff exchange) ­
• Requirements for a Global Food Innovation Platform (including food & heath, innovative food ingredients) ­
• Research, Innovation and Business Opportunities to Shorten the Food Chain (including food security, new value chains based on waste and by-products)

Following the workshops, a plenary session will identify the key actions and take home messages from the Summit. Throughout the day representatives from the UK and Irish food innovation support ecosystems (research institutes, universities, government agencies and food industry membership organisations) will exhibit their capabilities and will be available for one-to-one discussions.

For further information, please contact:

Mary Reilly, Teagasc
mary.reilly@teagasc.ie
+353 1 8059582
www.teagasc.ie