Harnessing Mid and East Antrim’s agri-food potential

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council (MEA) is putting a wealth of support into helping the borough’s food producers and processors shine. From cheesemaking, to brewing, meat production and sweet treats, the borough is making big strides in ensuring it’s among the leading food spots across Northern Ireland.

Agriculture, food production and processing in Mid and East Antrim (MEA) remains a strong and resilient sector and a key focus for growth in the borough.

Almost one third of all its businesses are involved in the wider agri-food sector, a figure which is well above the Northern Ireland average of a quarter and five times the UK average.

Most obvious is the primary production sector where the wealth of farmers from across the borough work tirelessly to produce milk, meat, eggs, fruit and vegetables from a wealth of breeds, varieties and strains.

Among those firms helping to increase the increasingly diverse food scene in the region is Carol Koster (pictured). Alongside husband Olav, a Dutch native living in Northern Ireland for the past 20 years, the pair have set up Carrickfergus Cheese – producing a variety of gouda.

Further along the chain the processing sector plays home to some of Northern Ireland and the world’s biggest and most innovative companies – such as Moy Park, Dale Farm and Cranswick – as well as a host of medium to small companies creating exciting products sold everywhere, from the doorstep to the far corners of the globe, like Hillstown Brewery, The Bank House and Granny Shaw’s Fudge Factory.

With such a rich agri-food scene, it’s little wonder Mid and East Antrim Borough Council take its role as an enabler to the sector extremely seriously, doing everything it can to allow an industry with huge potential to flourish.

Just last month it took a number of key agri-food businesses to the shop window for the sector in Northern Ireland, The Balmoral Show. Its stand in the Food Pavilion provided an affordable platform for six micro businesses to access the consumer market across four days while also gaining brand awareness and exposure as they sampled and sold at a show which is now among the biggest and best agri-food events in the UK and Ireland.

While the annual fixture is very much a part of Council’s focus, it has also developed a strategy to grow all aspects of the sector longer term.

With agri-food identified as one of the key priority sectors within MEA’s Amplify Integrated Economic Development Strategy, The Agri-food Study and Action Plan for the Mid and East Antrim Borough was produced.

Also, part of the Agri-food Study and Action Plan is the SPROUT programme, a unique opportunity for ambitious leaders in the sector to take their entrepreneurial ideas to the next level. Council is assisting individuals with the drive and ambition to find, refine and launch a brilliant business idea, with two applicants chosen to take part each month.

Each applicant chooses the support – whether creative, technical, design, legal, financial or other – most suitable to their idea but must have knowledge of the sector, including its challenges; a desire to innovate and a demonstrated ability to see, explore and evaluate opportunities and provide a strong rationale to be involved in the programme.

Again, this project is unearthing a plethora of entrepreneurial talent in the agri-food sector, replacing the traditional format of workshops and mentoring with a unique package of expert consultancy.

“We bring one or two businesses onto the programme every month,” programme manager, Helen Keys of Venture Folk, says.

“Our team sits down with them to decide exactly what they want to achieve We then curate a team of experts to work with them over two or three months.

“So far we’ve developed new branding for Spear and Arrow Bone Broth, helped Carrickfergus Cheese launch a Kickstarter campaign and created a new ordering system for Glenarm Redspark Lamb. We are working to launch The Good Ground sustainable mushrooms and an exciting new range of hampers from The Food Haven HQ.”

So far the council has supported 10 places on the programme and there is just one more to be allocated in October.

Meanwhile, the Agri-food Demonstrator Pilot Grant Scheme is another aspect of the Agri-food Study and Action Plan which seeks to unleash innovation in the sector.

The rolling programme was launched in April 2020 to give agri-food companies access to financial support to fund small-scale demonstrator projects, affording them the opportunity to invest in an idea for a new product, process, technique or service.

Qualifying companies with an idea for an agri-food project can avail of funding, with the scheme providing financial support of up to 50% of eligible costs to a maximum of £1,500 and this programme is attracting interest from a range of companies across the borough.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is also focusing on innovation in the cleantech arena, with the City Deal i4C Innovation Centre in Ballymena due to open in 2025 as a key player in the agri-food sector. The centre will house a range of accommodation and supports including an Innovation Laboratory (iLAB) offering a range of facilitated innovation support and technical expertise for the Agri sector to help them achieve their goal to reduce their carbon footprint.

Major local processors are leading the way. Pork processor Cranswick’s Ballymena site was the first in the Northern Ireland food sector to achieve carbon neutral certification (PAS 2060) after the team there invested in a range of efficiency and carbon reduction projects over a three-year period.

Since 2018, the senior management team and employee changemakers at Cranswick have delivered a range of initiatives to cut emissions, including switching to the purchase of 100% renewable electricity; an LED lighting replacement scheme and the installation of heat recovery systems to reuse excess and waste less heat.

Cranswick’s Second Nature sustainability strategy reflects the ambition to be the world’s most sustainable meat business and is focused on key areas including food waste, plastics usage, greenhouse gases, renewable energy, animal welfare and support for local communities. As part of the journey to achieve net zero emissions by 2040, Cranswick has committed to setting science-based targets and has made considerable progress in this area.

Other agri-food companies within the borough are following the same sustainability path as Cranswick, helping the sector bolster its green credentials.

“Covid has brought many challenges over the last 18 months, and our agri-food companies like many others have diversified, adapted and flourished,” Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, councillor William McCaughey, said.

“The agri-food sector has huge potential. Mid and East Antrim is renowned for the quality and breadth of our agri-food sector the world over. As a council, we’re determined to put everything in place to ensure our producers and food companies have all they need to reach their potential, whether that is research and development support, mentoring or any other means by which we can allow them to flourish in a global marketplace.

“We already have a world-class food sector which is rich in entrepreneurship and drive, producing top class food products which consumers love and trust. We want to build on that to provide the right conditions for agri-food companies to start, develop and grow within the borough and we will continue to develop our support to answer developing need.

“Council is determined to put MEA’s agri-food sector on the global map.”

To learn more about the support available for the agri-food sector in Mid and East Antrim, contact amplify@midandeastantrim.gov.uk, visit www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk/business/amplify-mid-and-east-antrim/economic-development

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