This article is from page 38 of the 2008-02-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 38 JPG
LAST Tuesday marked a major milestone for one of Irelands most successful and enduring farming or- ganisations.
February 19 marked the 50th an- niversary of the enactment of the legislation providing for the estab- lishment of An Foras Taluntais, the Agriculture Research Institute which now forms part of Teagasc.
A series of nationwide events are planned throughout the year to cel- ebrate the achievements in agricul- ture and food research over the last fifty years.
The establishment and develop- ment of AFT under the leadership of the late Dr Tom Walsh coincided
with a period of revolutionary think- ing in national economic policy.
‘The research carried out, first by AFT, and more recently by Teagasc, has provided a firm scientific founda- tion for modern agriculture and the dynamic food industry we have in Ireland today,” said Professor Gerry Boyle, Director of Teagasc.
“A great deal has been achieved over the last 50 years and this is in no small part due to the high quality people recruited into the organisa- tion and who have worked tirelessly for the benefit of Irish agriculture.”
Major milestones have been achieved in agriculture research in the past and Teagasc continues to provide the technological base ena- bling the industry to adapt to ongo-
ing changes in policy.
“Irish producers and processors must confront ever greater challeng- es in the global marketplace and the existence of a strong research func- tion fully integrated with advisory and training services is an essential component of that future,’ continued Professor Boyle.
Fifty years ago at the time of AFT’s establishment, over 60 per cent of the total national exports were from agri- culture and production was relatively static for a considerable period. AFT put in place a national programme of agriculture research to underpin the dramatic developments in Irish agriculture, and enabled it to benefit from access to new markets.
AFT initially set out to help farm-
ers increase productivity and income, broadening its research activities over the years as the policy environ- ment, market conditions and latterly erowing consumer demands set new priorities for research.
Representative advisory commit- tees were put in place from the start to ensure that the research programmes would focus on the real problems of the industry. A productive two-way flow of information was established, bringing first-hand knowledge of problems requiring research to AFT.
This speeded up the transmission and adoption of research results and this two-way flow was consolidated with the merger of AFT and ACOT to form Teagasc in 1988.