ARTISAN FOOD & A RECOVERY THAT'S MORE FARMERS' MARKET THAN BOND MARKET

"The recovery will be more GAA than IDA, less bond market, more farmer's market". That's according to the ever colourful David McWilliams in a recent article.

McWilliams was making the point that when times are tough, we can and do rely on others, buying and selling from each other, to get things moving again.

He witnessed this sort of resilience when he visited Iceland, a country that has taken bold economic steps and now seems stable compared to Ireland.

The quote is also about playing to our strengths and to our uniqueness. To this end, the artisan food sector in Ireland punches well above its weight.

(picture: Iain Flynn winner of Blas na hEireann 2010)

There are a couple of ways of measuring this. Firstly, there's the extraordinary performance of the little guys, the artisan producers, when they come up against the big boys, the large food corporations, in food competitions this time of year.

While companies like Flahavans and Glenisk do well each year at the National Organic Awards, this year's winner was Mossfield Cheese's mature, a handmade farmhouse cheese made on the farm at the foothills of the Slieve Bloom mountains.

While companies on the scale of Hilton Foods and AIBP did very well at this year's Blas na Heireann, the winner was Iain Flynn's spinach and ricotta cannelloni. Flynn's Kitchens, the food business that makes the Cannelloni, is a one man operation.

Flynn's Kitchens makes and sells a range of food products, including freshly prepared meals, pate, quiches, mayonnaises, oils, preserves and chutneys using local and organic ingredients.

Flynn himself makes dishes, staffs his own stall at farmers' markets and even does his own accounts, as he has a degree in economics.

This is reflective of the caliber of the next generation of food producer coming through � a decidedly post Celtic Tiger sort of business person.

Flynn's local sourcing is very comprehensive, a point he really emphasises in conversation.

Up against 1000 other producers in 34 categories, Flynn's Kitchen's stood out because of the sheer quality of the ingredients and preparation.

Mairead McGuinness, MEP, who attended the Blas na Heireann awards, commented: �I am astounded at the passion of the producers involved in the Blas awards. I believe this is a vital key in Irish food production. Ireland and especially home produced products have an exceptional quality brand to offer. The potential in this sector is truly enormous.�

Artie Clifford, chairman of the Blas Awards pointed out that �these Irish awards provide an opportunity for Irish producers to compete with each other and prove that they can compete with the best in the world. We are now asking shoppers to talk with their feet and support home grown produce.�

While the export output of these artisan companies is small, the export potential is strong. And that's the key point: Ireland Inc can grow more indigenous food businesses which can then begin to earn foreign revenue.

Before reaching that point, artisan food businesses help rebuild consumer confidence by beginning the process of recirculating money in the economy and augmenting business busy-ness more generally.

It is also the case that many of today's bigger food companies, companies like Clonakilty Black Pudding, Mr. Crumb or Lily O Briens, started out as small companies and grew into a different category over the last 15 or so years (small food companies are defined as those with between E100,000 and E3.5 million turnover each year).

Many other growing food companies are in a healthy state like Burren Smokehouse, St.Tola's, Just Food or Sheridans.

The Taste Council, a voluntary group made up of many of the key stakeholders in the artisan food sector, has been lobbying for years, through the good times and the bad, to improve the sector's supports.

Here are some facts and figures on artisan and local food from their Agri-vision 2020 submission:

• There are 350 specialty micro and small food business in Ireland.
• These 350 firms grew from a population of 60 firms in 1996.
• These 350 firms have a combined output at consumer prices (i.e. prices charged at retail or foodservice prices) of �475 million.
• Small firms are more labour intensive: Ireland's 350 small food firms employ 3000 people, a figure that grew over the last 10 years, while other agri-food sectors retracted in employment and in other terms.
• The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) reported a 50% increase in inquiries regarding the starting up or establishment of new food firms in 2009 compared to 2008.
• A study by the New Economics Foundation in London found that every �10 spent at a local food business is worth �25 for the local area, compared with just �14 when the same amount is spent in a supermarket. That is, a pound (or euro) spent locally generates more than twice as much income for the local economy.

In sum, small food businesses selling through routes to market other than the supermarket, contribute disproportionately more in terms of labour and spending patterns.

Peter Ward is owner of the Country Choice Food store in Nenagh. Founded in 1982, the store is famous amongst foodies and artisan producers alike.

He is full of ideas as to how to better facilitate the artisan sector and consumers alike. Routes to market is a big thing for Ward: �we need to up our game in the catering colleges, including in purchasing policies. Former catering collage graduates who now have food businesses need to be able to access that market.�

He continues: �all the young chefs have to be introduced to the excellence of artisan food production - otherwise we can't expect them to use the produce themselves when they graduate. They need to be stimulated by meeting producers, otherwise they just become fodder for an industry that doesn't see artisan food as terribly important.�

�Graduates from other disciplines need to see food is a viable option: no one presents food to them as a future career, they fall into food for other reasons. But people from other disciplines often have lots of new and useful skills to bring � this year's winner of Blas (na Heireann) is a perfect example� he says, in reference to Iain Flynn's accountancy background.

Indeed the recession has thrown up a whole new class of highly skilled and educated people who are out of work for the first time in their lives. The potential for these people to become superb food craftspeople is real.

Public procurement is another area where there is potential for the artisan sector, provided the �larger caterers who have the public contracts, like the contracts for feeding children in schools� can be convinced of the merit.

To this end, the newly revamped green public procurement initiative announced by Junior Minister Cuffe could begin the process of improving access for alternative foods not currently getting a look in to the public sector route.

One area Ward is especially passionate about is state support: �why is there no national media campaign to promote farmer's markets? I'd like to see organisations like Safe Food using their budgets to guarantee accessibility of affordable food to people who most need it outside of the supermarket structure�.

Considering some of the things food campaigns are run about, such as an egg a day being ok, this seems to be an eminently sensible suggestion.

He emphasises the importance of accessible and affordable fresh food, rather than just shelf life, a major focus for supermarkets.

Indeed, research into food poverty, in Ireland and elsewhere, has emphasised the importance of access as much as price: people without cars, in particular older people on low incomes, cannot frequent supermarkets as often as others. They rely on nearby shops and outlets for their food staples. Problems arise when these outlets do not have significant amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables, which is often the case. (See Combat Poverty's food poverty research for more)

I put some of these points to Bord Bia. They point to some distinct areas where they help grow farmers' markets.

�Bord Bia sponsored RTE One�s �Fresh from The Farmers� Market� programme for two years. The series, which aimed to encourage viewers to use and support their local market and artisan producers, featured well known chef and farmers market advocate Clodagh McKenna. It ran on prime time national television for 16 weeks and featured / interviewed in excess of 25 markets and 30 top quality small Irish food producers.�

They also supported an episode of RTE One�s Eco Eye which focused on the promotion of farmers� markets in Ireland.

Their own website and social media functions promote traders at farmers' markets, which includes a full market listing, while their Marketing Assistance programme includes signage and point of sale materials for farmers markets. They intend to upscale their web work with regard to markets, �We plan to include new elements in this over time, such as an interactive market map, case studies, training modules for markets� a Bord Bia representative said.

Finally, they developed a Code of Good Practice, to help both encourage best practice and promote farmers' markets in general.

However, there are issues, some of which are funding related. Bigger campaigns are match funded. This means that EU rules dictate that those being supported need to come up with some of the money themselves. So campaigns on, for example, beef and eggs, can get industry supports, whereas farmers' markets, which invariably have smaller scale producers at them, find it harder.

Indeed, funding rules also dictate that it is producers and products, rather than routes to market or farmers' markets per se that get the supports, according to a Bord Bia representative.

This invariably calls for creative actions, as the Fresh From the Farmers' Markets TV shows was. They do stress that they are, as it were, reviewing the situation with regard to promoting farmers' markets, so who knows, some fresh and funky promotions may grab your attention soon. In the meantime, seek and ye shall find.

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS (ORGANIC WEEK)

A busy National Organic Week has left the organic sector buzzing. Plenty of well attended events, some new research, promising policy developments and upcoming opportunities have all emerged.

Early on in the week, the Picnic in the Park in Portumna (pictured, left (c) Oliver Moore) was a very positive event indeed. This was certainly an event that attracted many people who were simply out and about in the greater Galway North Tipperary and West Offaly region for the day.

And that's what was so interesting about the day; its straightforwardness. It came across as a cross between an agricultural show and a foodie eat in, with nothing especially alternative about the crowd in attendance.

Slow Food the ICSA and IOFGA were the main organisers, while many local food businesses chipped in.

All the traders were certified organic who attended, and all sold out of their food exceptionally early. The location was stunning, while the activities ranged from informative and inspiring forest walks with Andrew St.Ledger of the Woodland League to detailed discussions on the process of converting to organic with Pat Barry, Mary Lynch and a genuinely interested crowd.

In many ways, attending an event like this, one full of positivity and great food, is as useful an introduction to organic farming and food as a farm walk or a course.

The National Organic Awards were also positive, as awards often are. However it was interesting to be in a room full of businesses and agency workers who seemed quite positive about the future.

Minister of State Ciaran Cuffe's speech pointed to a renewed Green public procurement initiative, which would be incorporating organic produce.

The market's message was mixed: According to Cuffe:

�The Irish organic market is estimated to be worth about �95 million this year compared to �66 million in 2006. Admittedly the figure is down from last year, but the decrease is more in value than in volume and the trend is more or less the same as we see in the conventional sector�.

�Despite this some sectors have bucked the trend. For example, Organic Yoghurt has shown a 24% growth in volume and diary is an area that is largely supplied by domestic production.�

Bord Bia's own research, released to coincide with National Organic Week, found that 33 per cent of Irish grocery shoppers purchased an organic product in the past week, up 2% on the 2008 figure.

It also found the volume of sales steady, and that 30 per cent of these consumers are purchasing more organic food than they were last year. Sixty-two per cent were buying the same amount of organic food.

Another possible policy development is the establishment of an organic horticulture advisor. Flagged at the Teagasc National Organic Conference in Birr last Thursday, if this does come to pass it would indeed be a positive and much needed development: there is significant interest in and need for dedicated organic horticulture advisory services.

However, in a possible sign of the wavering economic times, there was much talk of the fact that efforts were being made to make this happen rather than its certainty.

Good news for cattle and sheep farmers emerged from John Purcell of the Good Herdsman, who also spoke at the Teagasc event. He revealed some areas where he felt there would be a need for animals to service organic markets: �the industry needs an extra 6000 organic cattle to make a strong presence on the European Market� he claimed.

Purcell also pointed out that by introducing a branded organic product abroad - the organic steakhouse range - Good Herdsman was able to secure a premium and avoid a commodity race to the bottom, thus avoiding competition with South American Beef.

Winter finishing off green forage offers lamb producers some opportunities too, according to Purcell. He pointed out that if 4-5000 winter lambs were finished, processors would find European markets for them.

All in all, plenty of positivity emanated from Organic week . Here's hoping it is built upon.

WHAT'S ON THE ORGANIC RADAR? SEE HERE!

As Autumn starts to approach the Organic calendar begins to hot up. A few Teagasc organic demonstration farm walks remain, entries need to organised for the National Organic Awards and National Organic Week itself is being planned.

Remaining walks include field scale vegetables (August 26th Offaly) Beef, sheep, pigs, tillage, direct selling (August 31st Laois), dairying and biodiversity (September 1st Tipperary), beef, sheep, pigs, tillage (September 2nd Cavan), dairying tillage and farm shop (Kildare) and horticulture and direct selling (Galway).

(Pic: Una Ni Bhroin of Beechlawn Organic farm, which is holding an event for National Organic Week 2010)

All walks are on at 2 pm this year. This factor does make it more difficult for part time farmers to attend, which has had a bearing on numbers: last year's times were more varied.

Some of these walks are especially noteworthy. The Cavan event is on Richard Moeran's land, who also, as it happens, now supplies excellent organic poultry. This poultry is usually available at Declan McCarthy's organic mobile butcher's unit in various parts of the north west, including Cavan and Sligo farmers' markets.

Moeran is most noted, however, for his rare breed pigs. So if this area is of any interest to you, its well worth visiting his Mountnugent holding.

The last two walks have distinct direct selling elements: indeed the event on 3rd September on Peter and Jenny Young's farm, is on a holding which features a veritable A-Z of diversification, from cheese making to allotment training. In offering the latter, the couple train both farmers in offering allotments and allotmenteers in growing.

Now in their 4th year, the National Organic Awards have highlighted some spectacularly fine foods. Last year's winner, Moonshine dairies' unhomogenised milk, was and still is a fabulous product at a great price.

This year's awards have been extended to include organic horticulture growers. The announcement of the awards will coincide with National Organic Week (13th-19th September).

The award categories are: Best Organic Retail Product; Best Organic Local Product; Best Organic Export Product; Best Organic New Product; Best Sustainable Organic Product.

Each of the above five winners will then be put forward for judging for the Best Overall Organic Product. Application forms are available to download from the Bord Bia website

Also on their site, the list of events for National Organic Week itself is growing and growing. These range in size from tastings and tours to seminars and conferences. There are events on in the Nano Nagle Centre (Cork), Gortbrack (Kerry), Beechlawn House (Galway), various farmers markets and stores, and more soon to be announced.

Organic conferences are listed for both the Wexford Organic Centre and for the Hodson Bay hotel

According to Eileen Bentley of Bord Bia the aim of the week is to increase �the awareness of organic food benefits amongst core target audience� which she describes as �female, pre-family/young family.�

She goes on: �We will be doing this via a mix of activities on a national and local level, including national press advertising, bus shelter advertising, PR, on-line activities, in-store point of sale materials and funding for local producer events nationwide.�

She also makes reference to local events listed on the site and to the awards as being part of this promotional work. On the day of the awards' announcement, September 14th, �a workshop seminar for organic producers targeting the German market will also be held in Bord Bia, delivered by Grunekopfe Berlin� according to Bentley.

One element that will differ this year for National Organic Week is the promotional phrase used. Following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland, last year's phrase 'Organic: good for nature good for you' has been dropped.

The new phrase? 'Organic farming: good for nature good for you.' The latter is OK because its an approved EU phrase, whereas the the former was adapted.

Just how the word farming changes the meaning so much is a bit mysterious. It must be all the weeding. Organic farming � helps you get fit!

For a listing of the ever expanding array of events being held forr National Organic Week, see here

Organic Rope Mussels from Ireland

The Kerry-based Kush Shellfish company has recently became the first company in Britain or Ireland to market certified organic mussels.

(Photo by sedoglia )

�We researched the possibility of offering organic rope mussels and we successfully got organic status in June 2009 �according to Managing Director John Harrington.

They are also the first operators to be certified organic by Global Trust in Ireland, who were approved as an Organic Certifier earlier in the year.

Harrington continued: �We are hoping to sell directly into retail outlets at the top end of the organic market and into foodservice distributors at the top end.�

Their new organic rope mussels are marketed as both convenient and sustainable, as well as having been grown in safe, clean waters off the south west coast of Ireland.

This is especially important because Mussels are filter feeders: in other words, the cleaner the water the cleaner the product.

Harrington pointed out that, for the Kenmare-based company, differentiation is key, when compared to competitors who have economies of scale on their side: �We have a low carbon footprint � versus Chilean mussels we are ten times lower.�

With organic certification, a verifiable clean product, and a lower carbon footprint, Kush Shellfish have three distinct strands of differentiation.

These mussels are produced in a protected area (a Special Area of Conservation), which prevents many of the pollution-related issues other companies have from emerging.

Growth has been significant and strong in the organic seafood sector in general. According to BIM, in 2007, Ireland produced 10,000 tonnes of farmed salmon of which some 70% was certified organic: these fish fetched a price premium 40% above the regular market price.

Along with Kush Shellfish, Bord Bia also coordinated a number of Irish Sea Food Companies' attendance at the world's largest organic food fair, BioFach, which was held in Germany earlier this year.

Seafood has traditionally been the poor relation of the agri-food sector in Ireland. And yet, it employs over 11,000 generates over E730 million in sales, and accounts for almost 10%of total seafood sales within the EU. � of Irish sales are within the EU, primarily to the French, Spanish, Italian and Dutch markets.

However within the seafood sector, organic has begun to dominate.

According to Bord Bia: �Irish organic salmon sales have been positive in Europe and Ireland has a leading reputation. Many positive reviews have been received by the sector for the quality and consistency of its raw material.�

They go on: �Ireland's leading position in the organic salmon market is of key importance as the organic salmon market tripled in 2008 and organics are enjoying a boom in popularity in France.

�Salmon retail sales figures in France for the first 6 months of 2009 showed Ireland to be the fastest growing origin with 31.6% increase in volume sales compared to the same period in 2008. Last year France imported 3500 tonnes of Irish salmon to the value of �18million.�

Fish product exports are back slightly across the board, yet estimates continue to predict an increase in tonnage of Irish organic farmed salmon:

Recent projections have suggested that up to 5000 extra tonnes of organic salmon could be produced in Ireland, which would lead to the creation of about 300 jobs.

According to Donal Buckley, BIM�s Market Development Manager, Irish organic seafood, and specifically organic salmon, is well placed to survive the current market challenges:

�Ireland was responsible for pioneering organic salmon...the product is now highly sought after in Europe due to its superior quality.�

He goes on �in the current economic climate and with ever-increasing price competitiveness in the global salmon market, the Irish organic offering is a profitable and economically viable niche for quality-focused Irish producers�.

The sea food sector has managed to play to its strengths, and to develop multiple and complementary differentiation strategies based on producing a clean green product. Is there a lesson in this for the rest of the agri-food sector?

Organic Food Market: latest

Recent UK figures suggest a decline in sales of organic food, though an increase in land area managed organically. See here for more.

What's the story in Ireland? See below.

Volume up, value down. That's the story of organic food sales in Ireland, according to the latest TNS Bord Bia figures.

Volume refers to the amount of food being sold, whereas value refers to the revenue this food brings in.

The research, which covers the period up to December 2009, finds Ireland�s organic sector was valued at �105 million, with the volume increasing by 1.6% to 36,518 tonnes, compared to 2008 figures.

According to Bord Bia �Reflecting general price deflation across the food market during 2009, the value of organic sales declined by 10 percent.�

In value terms, the biggest winners were dairy products, yogurt, hot beverages and dried cereals. The foods that performed least well in value terms were fruits, breakfast cereals, fresh beef, hot beverages and milk.

In particular, the proliferation of new organic milk-based products is helping drive growth in the organic sector.

This is reflected in the stability of what is called penetration, or the range of households purchasing organic food.

To sum up what is going on in the organic market in Ireland right now: while people are spending less and spending less often, a stable number are buying a larger range of products.

This overall picture may not seem especially positive. However, it is a slightly better performance than the export-orientated food sector in general, which has seen both value and volume declines.

Irish food and drink exports experienced an estimated volume decline of 3 percent. The value of these exports declined by 12 percent last year, or by just under �1 billion, to stand at �7.12 billion.

There are of course many justifiable reasons for both markets to be suffering: global recession and deflation being the primary ones.

For Irish organic beef exports, the strength of Sterling is a constant issue: sales are reported to be recovering somewhat by the Leitrim Organic Farmers' Co-op, which has over 160 farmer members, following a tough time in December.

The organic sector has responded to the challenging market situation in a number of ways.

Reaching out to Continental Europe is one strategy. In general, both the German and French organic markets have remained relatively strong of late.

The seafood industry has been especially successful in accessing these Continental markets.

Up until 2007, the main Irish attendees at BioFach, the world's biggest organic food trade show, were from the Irish seafood sector.

All Irish salmon now has either an ecological or the full organic certification. Irish salmon exports to France rose by over 30% in the first half of 2009. Ireland now exports about 3500 tonnes of salmon to France per annum, to the value of �18million.

Along with seven seafood companies, this year's BioFach saw another seven Irish companies participating.

BioFach is widely regarded as the most important trade event in the international organic food and drink calendar.

However numbers attending and exhibiting were down slightly in 2010 from 2009:

In 2009, the event attracted over 46,000 European and International trade visitors from 130 countries, who saw over 2700 exhibitors. 2010 saw 43500 visitors from 120 countries experience just over 2500 exhibitors.

Nonetheless, in a sign perhaps of a culled though more efficient marketplace, a larger number of exhibitors surveyed expected follow up business from BioFach than in previous years.

The German market is especially strongly represented at BioFach, so Irish companies who exhibited at the show have potential access to Europe's biggest organic market, with an estimated annual sales turnover of �5.8 billion.

Specific Irish companies, many of whom exhibited at BioFach this year, have also begun to step up to the mark. Along with many in the seafood sector, The Good Herdsman, Beechlawn Organic, Solaris Botanical Teas, Just Foods and both Mossfield and St. Tola's Cheeses have all been working to both upscale and to develop export markets.

Undoubtedly, there are more challenges than in previous years. However, organic farmers and food businesses are performing well, considering the circumstances.

The most local local food event ever

�We boiled the sea water to make salt�. So says Sinead Ni Ghairbhith, organiser of the second annual Clare Harvest Banquet.

That's when I knew that this was in fact the most local local food event I'd ever been to.

The Banquet is a fundraiser for a street children's charity in Mongolia, Astral. Almost 300 are in attendance, and the mood is mighty, with a host of local performers complementing the food.

(pic: a chef, a farmer and a consumer at a Dungarvan farmers' market: says it all really. Copyright Oliver Moore)

Ireland's only Tibetan Lama and even Duncan Stewart himself are here: the latter is making a programme about food and the environment, the former a friend of Ni Ghairbhith.

Indeed the Tibetan and Mongolian dimensions really reveal how positively 'glocal' the whole show is: a local event aware of the globe in all its positive and negative nuances.

The event also acts as something of an agri-food experiment. The aim is to have a completely local event, where all, literally all, the ingredients come from the county of Clare.

Its as if Clare is a blockaded island during a war. Unlike frugal but clever wartime rationing, like boiling the egg in your kettle on the range while making a cup of tea, the aim is to actually have a brilliant banquet. So this is a glorious, spectacular celebration of the resourcefulness and ingenuity and, most of all, of the food of the county.

Even all the unusual frilly extras are local. Like the six local fruits, including pears and grapes. Or the chilli, corriander, and corn on the cob, from the farmers' markets' of Clare.

Local organic fruit and veg growers and suppliers Goerg and Angelika Schleiser produce what is amongst the best veg in the country: up there with Cork's Ultan Quinn. At home, both my nine year old son and my 60+ father can spot their carrots a mile off by their taste and appearance respectively.

Ann Nolan and Clare Linanne from Burren vegetables are also providing great vegetables, as well as oats.

Eva Hegarthy from Kilfinora, who sells at Kilaloe and Ennis farmers' markets, has provided the smoked pork belly.

Clare is especially lucky to have Killaloe's Wines of the Glen, who's gooseberry, elderflower and apple and elderberry wines are a perfect replacement for imported grape based wines. The elderberry is remarkably like a Beaujolais.

Excellent cheeses abound: They include Sinead's sister Siobhan's St.Tolas raw organic goat's cheese, from Inagh. Michael and Lucy Hayes's Mount Callan is another raw milk's cheese featured, this time from a herd of Montbelliard cows.

The Ice Cream, in one of the largest ice cream bowls I've ever seen, comes from Bridget and Rodger Fahy's Linalla in the Burren. Their herd of shorthorn cattle provide exceptional and creamy milk: when its this good, I always go for the vanilla.

A key trick seems to be smoking and storage. Smoking and proper storage means many foods, from fish to apples to spuds, can be eaten out of season in Ireland.

Peter and Brigitta Curtin's Burrensmokehouse in Listoonvarna is renowned for the quality of their salmon and mackrel, smoked in their 5.5 tonne cavernous steel smokehouse beneath their eatery.

Ni Ghairbhith also pointed out that the Irish Seed Savers gave both great apples and great advice on storage. �They have the largest collection of self-rooting apple trees in the world� she tells me. They also have 140 different types of Irish native varieties, making it a great place to source a tree or two.

How did it all taste? In a word, spectacular. Much of the produce was either donated or cost price, and the good vibes must have entered the food by osmosis.

While the effort gone to was a special effort for a special occasion, this event nonetheless acts like a microcosm of what could be done to relocalise food in Ireland. Or, at least, what could be done if Ireland 'the food island' is to reduce food imports. Each year we export nearly E9 billion, but import E6 billion.

The dairy sector, incredibly, is actually an area with serious import substitution potential. We import about E900 million of dairy products into Ireland each year. For every four euros of diary exports Ireland makes, it imports one euro back in.

While for a tiny minority of these imports, a case can probably be made - for example with unusual artisan cheeses - in the majority of cases with dairy one commodity replaces another.

So, while being almost 1000% self sufficient in a commodity like butter, we also import butter. This food product literally passes itself on shipping lanes, coming in and coming out, like shift workers duplicating work.

There are some mitigating circumstances: some of these imports are for the agri-food processing sector, or of products not available or producible here.

However, consumers have a responsibility too: the consumer can and regularly does change consumption patters over time.

For example, there is a growing market for 100% grass fed beef. This would reduce our cereal imports, as well as the carbon footprint of our meat and dairy sectors.

The desire is there: According to Bord Bia research, seven out of ten shoppers want to buy local � and that research was conducted before the recession, when the national economic benefits have become all the clearer in supporting local and Irish. Even then, 93% of those that buy local do so because they want to support the local economy. 58% of supermarket consumers buy local food there.

Growth rates for farmers' markets continue to rise; there are over 150 listed by Bord Bia now. Certainly, while smaller rural markets may occasionally struggle, markets serving a bigger catchment area are thriving.

When I spoke to the department of Agriculture Fisheries and Food about imports and self sufficiency, they informed me that �there would be capacity for import substitution in areas such as pigmeat, poultry, certain dairy products, certain cereals, vegetables and potatoes�.

Not before time, the agri-food sector in Ireland has begun to get its act together to promote Irish food, with the 'Love Irish Food' campaign. Agri-Aware has also gotten in on the act, recruiting high profile economist Jim Power and pointing out that one in seven jobs in Ireland depend on the agri-food sector. Crucially, agri-food has proven itself to be less prone to the recession than other sectors in the economy.

Are farmers' markets recession-proof?

Despite the recession, and indeed despite the cliches about people's economic behaviour during a recession, farmers markets are booming.

(Pic of dungarvan farmers' market, which is on every Thursday)

According to Stephenie Moe of Bord Bia �we had 135 on our books by mid 2008, we now have 149. Certainly there are slightly more opening a than closing� she tells me. �Anecdotally, the feedback from traders and orgnaisers is very positive. There is competition for traders stalls, which indicates that they are making money. A lot of producers are getting in touch.�

Organisers themselves agree: �we are creating a new market a month at the moment. There is more demand than there was during the boom� according to Sean McArdle, who runs farmers' markets in Dublin and elsewhere, mostly on the east coast of Ireland.

McArdle points out that he is being offered more sites than in previous years: �Of course, access to space may also be a sign of the recession� he suggests, in reference to closed premises, incomplete sites and other signifiers of post Celtic Tiger Ireland.

Jackie Spillane of the county council run CoCo markets agrees: �Buoyant is probably the word that best describes how the markets are doing. Several stallholders report increased sales, some report steady, and really it is only a small number who are feeling a general tightening. We're getting thousands of people at the markets.�

Spillane points out that the Dun Laoire local authorities have been extremely supportive, even down to locating and timetabling public events to coincide with the market. �Several local shops also now open on a Sunday because of the market�

There are now 45 stalls at the People's Park in Dun Laoire, with people travelling from as far as Cork with their own farmhouse cheeses. According to Spillane, about 1/3 of the traders are farmers at Dun Laoire.

In Cork, markets in urban centers are also doing well. Rupert Hugh Jones of Manon Point market: �The number of stallholders looking for stalls is absolutely crazy. We're getting 3-4 applications per day. We now have 50 stalls, and 300 on a waiting list. Customer numbers have increased with the stalls.�

All however point out that the recession is probably a cause of the increased interest in stalls:

�I've been inundated with applications from new vendors. Many are inexperienced, and may have lost jobs recently. We have 30 applications for cup cake stalls. Now, there's a place for good cup cakes, but its tricky to make a living from them. You need to be more innovative� according to Spillane.

Adapting to new consumer needs is important. Overall, it seems that people are eating out less, but are returning to quality home cooking. This benefits those selling staples in particular.

According to Tipperary farmer Joe Condon , who sells at Dungarvan farmers' market each Thursday: � my burgers are proving to be the real winner. It serves the purpose, it stands in in a meal instead of a steak�. Likewise Condon's mince is selling well.

However, he also points out that both his mince and burgers are made to a high standard:

�I provide a a democratic cross section of the animal. We make them from quality cuts, not off cuts, so the quality and flavour comes through.� Add to this the certified organic and grass fed upland Galloway dimension, and its clear that the consumer is getting a cut above the ordinary.

Stephen Baker of Listowel market has also adapted. He now sells hot dogs. However, these are no ordinary hot dogs, as the meat comes from Caroline Rigney's award winning rare breed pigs in West Limerick.

Another new development, in many ways connected to the recession, is the provision of space for produce from allotments and community gardens. Even Sean McArdle's privately run markets in and around Dublin, known for their significantly higher rents for stallholders, have integrated this into their set up.

It's not all kisses and handshakes however. Peri-urban markets are feeling the pinch. �I had to close both Bray and Wicklow recently�, Jackie Spillane tells me. Major job losses in the construction industry in satellite towns, coupled with small numbers of stallholders at the markets were cited by Spillane as the main reasons for this.

Indifferent or even belligerent local authorities are also causing problems: Due to the success of the Midelton Saturday and indeed other markets in the region, as well as numerous stallholders wanting a piece of the action, a Tuesday market has recently been established in Midelton.

However, according to Rupert Hugh Jones, � the town council wouldn't accommodate us, we've been hounded by them. They are trying to shut us down in every possible way. So we're on private land�.

Interest remains strong, however: �Within 5 days we had too many applications. So we prioritize local stallholders. Over 90% of the stallholders are locals in Midelton. The feedback has been great so far�.

Minister of State Trevor Sargent recently announced a new scheme for farmers' markets.

The 'Good Practice Standard' will be denoted by a Flag, which participating markets may display and which the Minister unveiled in the Food Market at BLOOM 2009.

According to the Department �Farmers' Markets signing up to the Good Practice Standard will under take to hold markets regularly; to source a substantial proportion, ideally 50%, of local produce from the county or neighbouring counties; to accommodate seasonal and local garden/allotment produce and to comply with food safety/labelling rules and criteria on good governance�.

When queried about this, most stallholders had not actually heard of it. While most I asked about it were cautiously positive, private market organiser Sean McArdle was initially very skeptical.

�It sounds impossible to do, they'll have no one. There is no grower in north county Dublin who could supply markets. There are a few heavily contracted to supermarkets. The last flower grower is struggling.�

He goes on: �North county Dublin has grazing land, we don't have the rich alluvial soils needed for for growing vegetables. We also don't have the tradition.�

�The real problem is that there is an idea that in a market, a farmer comes in in a tractor, puts down 10 bags of spuds and sells them with straw in his month. That Victorian image isn't there in reality. Growing is difficult, and it comes down to scale.�

All of that said �I would welcome a local grower in wholeheartedly. Any one producing from the land within a five mile radius comes in at half price already at my markets�.

However, even McArdle started to warm to the flag idea when he heard about the details. The aspirational and vague language, with words like 'ideally', 'substantial portion' and 'adjoining', along with achievable 50% local target meant that, in his opinion, his markets were in that ball park anyway.

Others, such as Jackie Spillane of the CoCo markets, were more positive: �We'll certainly be applying. 50% is achievable, it could have been higher, but this is a reasonable set of goals for the pilot phase�

organic sales in Ireland up 11%, organic sentiment reasonable

The absolutely latest organic sales figures that I've managed to access, which I received today, through Bord Bia from TNS, suggest the following for January 2009:

Sales of organic groceries: up 11%

Sales of conventional groceries: up 2.7%

Isn't that amazing? Despite all the hype, despite people's presumptions, despite people presuming the UK reality must always be the Irish reality, sales of organic produce is up 11% on last January's figures.

What's more, only a specific set of barcoded products are tracked by TNS. Organic accounts for a significant ammount of unbarcoded sales (e.g. loose fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers' markets) .

In other words, the true figure of organic sales increases may be higher again.

(Pic from the Wiki creative commons)

Below is an article on the statements people make about future spends - these always have to be taken with a pinch of salt, as people always paint themselves well in polls (well as in frugal these days)

According to a recent TNS mrbi survey on consumer spending plans for 2009, all consumer products will be affected by the state of the economy.

The organic sector can perhaps take some solace from the fact that that out of 18 spending options, it is placed 6th from the top, with the top being the least changed consumer spend.

Concerts, renting DVDs and overnight stays all fare far worse. Organic food will not be affected as much as treats - going out to drink - or bigger spends and investments, such as electrical items for the house.

However this consumer self assessment suggests that the spend on organic food will be 2/3 the level of 2008.

In general, it can be taken that the consumer will be more careful and thoughtful, and will put off some of the very big and perhaps unnecessary spends.

It is hard to be certain about how this sentiment will transfer into the weekly shop as the year unfolds, as food is neither a luxury nor a big marquee spend.

The different types of organic food are not demarked in this survey. A generic desire to spend less on organic is not subtle enough to be of much use to the food producer: how different will the organic food spend be on meat and milk when compared to pizzas and popcorn?

In other words, will it be more likely that consumers will think in the same way about their organic food preferences as their conventional ones, by keeping the staples?

Another confusing notion is surveying 100% of people about what only 45% of people actually do - purchase at least one organic item each month.

When I put this to TNS, they stated that �the data has been repercentaged (sic) to exclude those that do not buy organic�.

This then becomes a lottery of self-assessed organic consumers, where the respondents� relative organic spend does not even get taken into account.

Much of the growth in organics in the current decade has come from committed organic consumers expanding their purchasing range of organic food, rather than for new consumers, so the survey gives us little steer on the likelihood of these sales being affected.

There are always issues with aspirational surveys such as this one: in other words surveys which outline what people hope they will do in the future.

Perhaps these sorts of surveys should come with the kind of health warning that comes on a box of 20 Major.

According to this same survey, a full 49% claimed that they would be spending less on cigarettes in the coming year.

What exactly this means to the surveyor and to the surveyed, and how they are reconciled, is a minefield.

According to TNS, �spending less on cigarettes does not mean stopping smoking, but maybe cutting down one or two cigs a day, or switching to a cheaper brand or buying more duty free/illicit.�

Does the smoker hope, as almost all do, that they will just smoke less or even quit? This survey was conducted in the resolution month of January, after all.

In surveys, people tend to paint themselves in a positive light. Frugality is now chic, so promising to yourself that you�ll spend less on organic food probably resonates well with the consumer�s new self image. This may or may not transfer over into behavioural changes.

It is surely noteworthy that organic was in the indulgence category of the survey.
This would come as news to many, especially in the staple end of the market.

If I have another month of organic turnip soup indulgence, with the turnip clocking in at 1.20 in Tescos, I�d hate to see hardship.

However, it is certainly clear that the mainstream consumer is thinking about things never thought of since before the Tiger, and the organic sector like all the others needs to be aware of this.

Value is a combination of quality and price. To convince people of the price, the quality has to be there.

A Micra costs less than a Merc. Everyone knows and understands this. Does everyone know and understand why organic food is good value?

organic and the credit crunch: part 1

I'm currently doing a three parter on the economy and organic in the examiner. For the bang up to date stuff on this ever changing dynamic, you'll have to get it in the examiner each thursday! (See today's examiner for the most recent figures on the organic market)

My next posting will focus on producers and others in the organic agri-food system. Here's a version of what was there last week:

The current economic situation, which is likely to hold for the foreseeable future, is a new economic climate for organic food producers and consumers alike.

Undoubtedly, consumers are a lot more careful about what they buy now. Consumers are now more likely to try a bit harder to get better value.

Recent research by Bord Bia pointed to growth all through 2008, with slower though still real growth more recently.

�Our research in other areas would suggest that consumers are moving back to standard brands, and away from premium brands.� According to Lorcan Bourke of Bord Bia.

�Having said that, I wouldn�t loose the overall impression of growth. Some organic products has made it into the mainstream shopping basket as part of the weekly shop�

Lorcan points to recent research, which suggests some positive trends:

�In terms of the total potential market, 61% are now open to organic food�.

The research suggests that there are three broad categories within this 61%.

There is a total adult grocery shopping population of 2 million people.

Within this, believers, or a hard core of committed consumers, account for 17% of the market. This is 350,000 people.

Those who seek organic for a specific reason (�health managers and status seekers are the categories used in this research) are 28% or 550,000 people.

While the last group, defined as �aspirational improvers� in this research are 7% or 140,000. This group is made up of people who would like to buy more organic but think they can�t afford it. Often, this is young people with large families on a tight budget.

Another 9%, or 170,000, who don�t yet purchase organic, are considered �evolving considers�.

Lorcan points to the fact that the incidence of buying organic in the last 6 months, (i.e. up to end of August 2008) was 52%. In 2003, that was just 41%. Also, 45% of all shoppers purchased something organic in last month � the equivalent figure in 2003 was just 20%.

UK research also paints a positive picture in the early part of 2008, but suggests significant tailing off more recently.

UK organic fresh fruit and vegetables box schemes are holding steady, but involve more imports as people grow a slightly greater proportion of their own food and use the box scheme for, ironically, more exotic imports.

The organic egg market seems to have been particularly hit in the UK. Many UK consumers have changed over to free range for at least the present. The production differences and thus eventual mark up is quite significant in organic as compared to either conventional or free range eggs.

However, experts in the UK suggest that rising farmer costs, inter supermarket competition and a poor summer are all blamed for contributing to a confused climate for shopping, where all higher end produce is in limbo at present.

In the current economic climate, consumers may start to buy less convenience and value added foods, and may eat out less. Also back garden growing, cooking at home more from scratch with primary products, more affordable cuts, portions and brands are all re-emerging.

This is not necessarily all bad news for organic producers, though it is a different dynamic.

Consumer moves from one retailer to another is also noteworthy. One effect is that LIDI now carry many organic lines. However, with the exception of Irish organic minced beef and milk from northern Irish organic farmers, many of the organic products in the German discounter are imported.

Harvest time comes around yet LIDI still stock an array of imported organic fresh fruits and vegetables, as though season was irrelevant.

(I'll post more about the egg thing in Ireland next posting!)

How is organic food and farming viewed? State, media and other views

(Hyperlinks to follow)

When writing my PhD, which was about consumers of organic food at farmers� markets, I included a section on how organic food is represented.

The state, -Teagasc, Bord Bia and the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Food - had a difficult job. They had to describe organic as a specific thing, and yet not downgrade conventional food:

�Organic farming is a system of farming which avoids the use of soluble fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, feed additives and other chemicals� (Teagasc)

�Organic farming is an alternative method of food production, which is environmentally friendly.� (Bord Bia)

�Organic farming represents a different view of farming systems, which puts a strong emphasis on environmentally friendly and sustainable farming practices, with particular concern for animal welfare. Organic farming avoids the use of synthetic fertilisers, chemicals and/or additives.� (DAFF)

Non-state players were sometimes more specific. The IFA pointed out that they had no quibble with organic food, but that conventional food was produced by �sustainable farming complying with strict environmental and animal welfare standards�. In a position paper, they argued for

�The removal of scientifically unjustified requirements imposed by organic farming guidelines on agronomically effective and economically valid inorganic fertilizers. Since guidelines for organic farming practices are not necessarily science-based, it should be clearly specified that the justification for not allowing some inorganic fertilizer sources is for marketing purposes only and not for food or environmental safety reasons� (IFA 2003).

The media in general were mixed. Celebrity chefs were usually positive, though sometimes talked about preferring local over organic. Individual products or producers tended to get the soft-focus, rose-tinted treatment. Never a bad word was said about the biggest or the smallest, from Glenisk to local small-scale organic stallholders at farmers� markets.

However, over the course of the five years I spent doing the PhD, a marked trend started to emerge: it was no longer newsworthy, or eye catching, to say positive things about organics. Organic had already won the battle of language, so to draw people in, you now had to say something bad about it.

And it was often those who wrote the headlines as opposed to those who wrote the articles who did this: Usually, those who write articles don�t get to choose the headlines that accompany the articles - myself included.

In particular, this happened when the organic certification system worked and caught the odd chancer who was bending the rules.

When this happened, this occurrence often became carte blanche for an organic attack. So the UK�s Observer screamed in 2005 on its front pages � �the great organic food scam exposed�, mainly because one shop was convicted of fraudulent selling of organic food.

But the further into the article you got, the better, and better regulated, organic sounded.

It continues to this day, and shows no sign of abating. A couple of weeks ago there were a sequence of talks on organics, and it seems that Dr. Con O�Rourke (formerly of Teagasc) was invited to every one of them. Despite the fact that there were other speakers in attendance, O� Rourke�s statements made the headlines.

And the headline-writers had a field day. This paper, the Irish Independent and the Irish Times all shrieked from their front pages and on the headlines of the articles about how organic wasn�t that good after all.

But again, the further you got into the articles, the better organic sounded. Take the Times:

�Most organic food doesn't actually taste better than food produced with the use of pesticides, cookery writer Darina Allen told the meeting� began the article.

What was actually a caveat by Allen, based on the odd example such as old, out-of-date organic food being left for weeks on a supermarket shelf, became an exemplar of her overall position on organics - which it isn�t. This and other good news organic information slowly seeped out later in the article.

It�s as if the attendant journalists and headline writers back in HQ were waiting for one Mcnugget to present a misleading and unbalanced argument.

But this is how it is now for organics. Organics may have won the battle of language with consumers, but, and partly because of this, it now has to fight sloppy sensationalism.

supermarkets and the food system

Here's a two parter I'd published in the examiner in January. It discussed why some organic producers dislike supermarkets....I'll stick my critique on the DEFRA/MBS report up here soon

You could call the relationship between the organic movement and supermarkets biting the hand that feeds you. Or, depending upon your perspective, you could describe the situation more as the hard hand of economics slapping the impudent nippy little organic pup.

According to the latest (2006) Bord Bia research, 85% of all organic food sold in Ireland is sold through supermarkets. Yet this same research found that some organic producers, �on a point of principle� (to use the specific words used by Lorcan Bourke of Bord Bia at a recent organic conference) refuse to deal with supermarkets. So its not that the producers of the other 15% (who are numerically greater than 15% of producers) can�t get their products in � they have no intention of going next nor near the places. Why is this?

In general, supermarkets have given us a cornucopia of choice, an abundance of options and an array of alternatives. We can have whatever, whenever. Whether its strawberries in winter, or readymade meal, one for every day of the week an (Indian, Italian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican...) have never had it so good. Especially in a Celtic Tiger context where we are more and more busy, with both men and women in the workforce. We spend less and less time and money on cooking, and food is, for the majority of people, nothing more than a thing that gets us through the day. Supermarkets provide cheap and cheerful choice and convenience, the mantras of modern Ireland.

So what�s the problem with these organic producers who don�t like supermarkets then? On the one hand, supermarkets are an obvious growth area for organics, and in Ireland and the UK have pumped a fortune into promoting and developing various organic brands. In other parts of the developed world, notably North American and Australia, this is not the case at all. Walmart in the US have only belatedly joined in on the organic revolution, and have done so to a fanfare of accusations that much of their organic produce isn�t actually organic at all.

Back home in Ireland, some supermarkets have a great reputation within the organic sector � Scally�s Supervalu in Colnakilty being a standout example.

Yet in my own years of research I have come across this same feeling of antipathy amongst organic producers towards supermarkets found in the Bord Bia research.

There are some basic practical things - like not getting paid for months. Sometimes, the standard waiting time for payment can be up to three months.

Putting all your eggs into the one basket is another worry. If you are dropped, or squeezed, you have little power when you have no other avenues for selling your product. Even those whose produce ends up on the supermarket shelves worry about the sheer scale and power of the modern retailer.

Your product might turn out to be the wrong shape, size, colour, texture, but superior in a multitude of ways. Quality depends upon subjective interpretation and perspective. Your product might be leading edge; unwaxed fruit, so long the preserve of artisan and organic producers, is finally socially acceptable in city supermarkets. Five years ago, that would quite simply not have happened. Recently, I encountered an organic grower who claimed to have �ploughed �30,000 (old money) of lettuce into the ground, because they were the wrong size for the supermarket�

Supermarkets� lack of malleability is another related issue. Small, innovative products need a distinct display, and the remote control management techniques of the vast majority of supermarkets isn�t subtle enough to provide this. The two of the products featured last week that are sold through supermarkets - Chill Baby organic babyfood and Blazing Salads� artisan organic bread � have passionate and forward thinking producers who fight for specialist display areas. The products would be lost elsewhere in the supermarket. Where they succeed in getting specialist dislays, their products succeed. Joe and Martin Fitzmaurice of Blazing Salads have waxed lyrical about their preference for small, independent supermarkets over and above the bigger chains for this very reason.

But there is so much more to it that this.

Some of the issues some organic producers have with supermarkets cut a little deeper. Some are stubborn, ideologically driven pioneering producers who hate the thoughts of the massive mark up supermarkets make, or the thoughts of their food going off on the shelves. So they innovate. Organic producers have always been to the forefront of alternative distribution schemes (box schemes, farmers� markets) and will continue to be (direct digital delivery a la Ballybrado here or Riverford in the UK).

But this latter point, the one on personality types, actually goes deeper again. Some see supermarkets as part of the problem. According to the alternative discourse on how food (and to some extent life) should be, some of the problems include concentrations of power; declining food nutritional levels; the evisceration of town centres; the move of power from producers to distributors; the vacuousness of modern life; the tailoring of food supply to suit cars and road expansion schemes; the ignorance in urban consumers of the realities of rural life and food production.

It is also noteworthy that the countries with the strongest food cultures in Europe (e.g. Italy and France, and the general Mediterranean rim) have amongst the lowest supermarket penetration into the food supply system. Where supermarkets do function in the Mediterranean rim, all the processes so familiar to us in Ireland and the UK, such as own brand vertical integration, just-in-time delivery and so on, are completely underdeveloped.

People who study organic farmers for a living (yes, they are out there, and I myself am one of them!) sometimes define organic farmers in fundamentally different ways to other farmers.

Hilary Tovey (TCD) uses three interrelated categories to describe what she calls the knowledge interests of organic farmers. These are cosmological, organisational and technological. Cosmological simply means ideological, or belief-orientated. Organisational means a fundamental desire to change how food is produced, distributed and consumed � organising these things differently. Technological means a belief that farming should happen differently.

Tovey points out that the three are inter-related � as an example, there is an ideological side to organisation; farmers� markets have lots of socio-cultural and environmental benefits, other than just giving local farmers a business incubation service. Whether it�s the opportunity to justify the differences in your products, the chance to see actual humans (farming is a very solitary life at times); a way to fight food miles practically, a way to keep cash circulating locally, or just to take some power over your product back, the list goes on.

Likewise, there is an ideological side to the technical - not using various agri-industrial products and processes, (such as synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and so on) is related to a different belief in how food should be produced.

And even if you move on from the farmers� market, there is always another organic producer with these beliefs and practices to replace you. So the movements� knowledge interests get replenished.

The conventional food system (the Department of Ag, the IFA, Teagasc, supermarkets etc), when it deals with organics, tries to foreground the technological, and background, or ridicule, the other two. So scale, and an export and mainstream retail orientation are encouraged in organics by these players, whatever about the historical pitfalls these processes may have thrown up in the past.

But still, stubborn and at the same time innovative organic producers keep on keeping on, while some are replaced in the movement by fresh young blood. Importantly, for those who study organics, a personnel change, or an incorporation of a particular organic producer into the more mainstreamed food supply system does not mean that the movement ends. The ideas and practices, the beliefs and actions just get to live on in different people.

Simply put, there will always be a bit more to organics than the production of a technically different food.