New £46million scheme launched to support Agri-food and drink processors to improve efficiency and productivity

Economy Minister, Conor Murphy, has today launched a £46million Agri-Food Investment Initiative to support local agri-food and drink processors.

Economy Minister Conor Murphy is pictured with Liam Duffy, Chief Executive and owner of Classic Mineral Water, and Kieran Donoghue, CEO Invest Northern Ireland.

The Initiative, developed by Invest Northern Ireland, has been designed to help improve the overall competitiveness and productivity of the agri-food and drink processing sector in Northern Ireland.

Minister Murphy said: “Agri-Food processing makes a significant contribution to local communities throughout the region, and especially to rural communities. By targeting support to this sector, this scheme will promote regional balance. The capital investment will help companies adopt greener technologies, and so contribute to our net zero targets. Importantly, the scheme also aims to increase the sector’s productivity.”

The Minister was speaking at an event attended by businesses and stakeholders for the agri-food and drink sector. He also visited drinks processing company Classic Mineral Water in Lurgan. The company has invested heavily in new production equipment resulting in productivity improvements for the business alongside growth in both employment and sales.

Welcoming the Minister to the company’s state-of-the art facility in Lurgan, Liam Duffy, Chief Executive and owner of Classic Mineral Water said: “Investing in your business is essential if you are to ensure continued success.

“Since taking ownership of Classic Mineral Water I have made multimillion-pound investments in new machinery, process improvements and innovation. As a result, we are the first in Ireland to produce isotonic drinks for the private label market, the business is much more productive, our sales continue to grow and we now employ four-times the number of people we had five years ago.

“Access to support through an initiative like this will significantly help a business like mine continue to make capital investments in new technologies.”

Joining the Minister on the visit, Kieran Donoghue, CEO Invest Northern Ireland said: “The aim of this new Initiative is to improve the overall competitiveness of Northern Ireland’s agri-food and drink processing sector. To this end, we are particularly seeking projects which are innovative and demonstrate how they will improve the productivity and sustainability of the business.

“The Initiative is now open to applications from all eligible agri-food and drink processors in Northern Ireland, and I encourage businesses in the sector to avail of this significant opportunity to invest for future growth. Classic Mineral Water here in Lurgan is an example of what can be achieved through investment and innovation undertaken in partnership with Invest NI.

“As well as providing efficiency and productivity benefits directly to the business, we also expect investments through this Initiative to have a positive impact on the agri-food supply chain across rural areas.”

Full details on eligibility, the support available and how to apply is available at the Invest Northern Ireland Agri-Food Investment Initiative page .

Notes to editors: 

1. Photo caption:  Economy Minister Conor Murphy is pictured with Liam Duffy, Chief Executive and owner of Classic Mineral Water, and Kieran Donoghue, CEO Invest Northern Ireland.

2. The Agri-Food Investment Initiative will provide support to Northern Ireland agri-food and drink processors.

3. The Agri-Food Investment Initiative has approval for spend of up to £46million, subject to budget availability.

4. The Agri-Food Investment Initiative is open to small and medium-sized food and drink processing businesses, and large agri-food processing businesses.

5. Large businesses must be engaged in processing Annex I products, where the inputs and outputs of the manufacturing process are both classified as ‘agricultural products’. This is a requirement of the European Commission approval enabling Invest NI to provide this capital support to large enterprises.

6. Due to State aid restrictions, businesses operating in primary agriculture and horticulture, fish processing, aquaculture and bio-based fuels are not eligible to apply for the Agri-Food Investment Initiative.

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