Celebrating Welsh food and drink

6 @specialityfood INDUSTRY Industry Voices Three figures of the Welsh food and drink industry share their views on the innovative sector Professor David Lloyd , Food &Drink Wales Industry Board As chair of the Food & Drink Wales Industry Board of 10 industry experts across the food sector, I’mpart of the group highlighting key issues faced by the industry to the First Minister and advising Government on policies. This is on a larger scale to the issues the Government’s support programmes deal with – for example, we manage education around food for the lifespan of a child. If this is broken the child loses a connectionwith real food so this work is vital. By collaborating we have a tangible effect and canmake interventions. It is vital that the food sector is supported; we can automatemany things, but we can’t automate farming andmany other roles in food production. There will always be jobs available. As a result of the Covid-19 lockdowns we understoodmore than ever the need to manufacture – no country can exist without some form of food production. The Welsh food and drink industry is strong, with a range of products in all 18 subsectors which all demonstrate quality and safety – and this is increasingly recognised beyondWales’ borders. WithinWales itself there’s growing awareness of our domestic food and drink industry; there is more Welsh food and drink on the shelves, in fact it has doubled in 10 years, and PGI products are a valuable part of this – we are lucky to have a plateful of them. Retailers have been excellent at sourcing local foods and they’re a major player in this growth. José Peralta, Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat PromotionWales Wales is naturally well placed to produce high quality red meat – owing to itsmaritime climate, mountainous landscape and its farming IT IS VITAL THAT THE FOOD SECTOR IS SUPPORTED; WE CAN AUTOMATE MANY THINGS, BUT WE CAN’T AUTOMATE FARMING AND MANY OTHER ROLES IN FOOD PRODUCTION. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE JOBS AVAILABLE