A new think-tank bringing together some of the best-known names in the North's food sector will devise a blueprint for the region's future food and agriculture industry.
The Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Ms Brid Rodgers has established a new 12-member working group, which includes senior representatives from Tayto to the Ulster Farmers' Union and the Dairy Council in the North. Ms Janet Trewsdale, chairwoman of the Northern Ireland Economic Council, has been appointed to chair the working group.
One of its chief tasks will be to establish whether a new food body should be set up in Northern Ireland to co-ordinate food marketing and manage key challenges such as supply chain issues.
The North's agribusiness sector has come under severe pressure in recent years, first from the BSE crisis and, more recently, from the foot-and-mouth outbreak across Northern Ireland. A recent report from the business consultancy group, PricewaterhouseCoopers, showed that farm incomes have fallen in Northern Ireland while the number of people employed in the sector is also in decline.
Ms Rodgers said a report from an industry steering group last year recommended the establishment of a food body to promote and safeguard the interests of the sector in the Northern Ireland.
