Minister celebrates success of horticultural sector

Agriculture Minister, Michelle Gildernew MP MLA, has visited horticultural growers and processors in County Armagh.

Beginning her Armagh visits the Minister said: “I have the greatest praise for the efforts of the growers and processors whom I visited today as they strive to continually seek new markets in a very competitive sector.

“The horticultural sector, has had to be innovative in looking for new opportunities to help survive in an industry without subsidies. My department are supporting this innovation through on-going research programmes at both CAFRE and AFBI.”

Minister Gildernew visited the Gilfresh Produce family business at Loughgall, Wilson’s Country Foods in Portadown and Shane Donnelly’s Greenisland Flower business at Maghery, near Portadown.

Speaking at Wilson’s Country Foods during her visit Minister Gildernew commended the company’s use of ICT in conjunction with the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE). She said: “Wilson’s new system to allow growers to record their information online centrally will be of great benefit to all of their growers and will help keep the local industry one step ahead in the market”.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. The horticulture industry in NI has received almost £12 million under the EU Processing and Marketing Grant Scheme. The three companies visited have received approximately £2.2m from 1997 until present.
2. Gilfresh Produce is owned by Thomas Gilpin who operates the business in partnership with his brother Kenneth and his son William. They grow approximately 400 hectares of vegetables and have a 4000 square metres modern vegetable packing facility. They supply their produce to some of the major supermarkets and processing outlets as well as customers in the Republic of Ireland.
3. Wilson Country Foods was established in 1986 when it traded from the family farm. It specialises in the supply of potatoes grown without artificial fertiliser. Wilson Country Foods completed an investment of over £5million in relocating to a single new operational site at Carn Industrial Estate, Portadown in 2005. The company previously operated from two separate sites in Portadown and Richhill. Wilson Country Foods is a specialist pre-packing company that supplies a range of branded and supermarket own-label potatoes for retail sale. Potatoes are grown by a group of 30 farmer suppliers.
4. Greenisland Flowers which is owned by Shane Donnelly was established in 2004 as a second enterprise to compliment his lettuce growing business. He presently supplies over one million stems of extended cut flower Stalk to some of the major supermarkets in the UK and Ireland. The business won the Refresh Award for ‘UK Best Flower Business’ of the Year 2007.
5. Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).
6. All media enquiries to DARD Press Office, tel: 02890524619.