Northern Ireland's Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen has met with the Agri-Food Strategy Board (AFSB) for an update on implementation of the 'Going for Growth' initiative.
Michelle McIlveen said agri-food is one of the most important economic drivers in Northern Ireland, and "will continue to be so."
She said: "Since the launch of Going for Growth in 2013, good progress has been made across a range of areas and most of the agreed actions are either complete or on target for completion.
"Key achievements include opening up a further 49 new markets for the sector, launch of the knowledge transfer element of the Farm Business Improvement Scheme, development of a Sustainable Land Management Strategy, and the work of the TB Strategic Partnership Group to develop a long term strategy for eradicating TB.
"We also took the opportunity to discuss with the AFSB future priorities for the remainder of its term and the challenges and opportunities for the sector in a post-Brexit era."
'Substantial progress in competitveness'
Economy Minister Simon Hamilton said since the launch of Going for Growth in May 2013, Invest NI has made "substantial progress" in improving the competitiveness and capability of the sector.
He said: "Over 1,300 financial and advisory projects have been delivered during the period, offering £38 million assistance and levering £442 million of total planned investment.
"The total investment of £442 million is good progress towards the target of £1billion by 2020, set out in the Going for Growth Strategic Action plan.
"Key achievements which fall within my remit include the establishment of a £6.7 million Agri-Food Quest Competence Centre, with £5 million funded by Invest NI, the extension of Gas to the West, and solutions for the Sustainable Use of Poultry Litter with the creation of a loan scheme which has funded two projects to date.
'Sustainable and profitable'
Tony O’Neill, chair of the AFSB, said the Board has seen "encouraging progress" made by both government and industry in delivering our vision of a "sustainable and profitable" agri-food industry.
He said: "In particular, we provided an update to the Ministers on the work we have been undertaking on the development of the new strategic marketing body.
"It is important that we make sure that the core objectives and focus of the body are appropriate from the start to ensure it can hit the ground running and help our industry make the most of any opportunities arising from the recent Brexit decision.
"We are proud to have helped shape the Farm Business Improvement Scheme, and promoted the Business Development Groups which offer key support in terms of knowledge transfer and capability development.
"Over the coming months we will continue to progress our livestock genetics initiative and sustainable land management strategy to underpin longer term sustainable growth within the sector.
"Agri-food historically has been central to the economic development of Northern Ireland, and that will remain the case in the future."
