CONSUMER-PRODUCT SWOT ANALYSIS
The following was largely written a couple of years ago but it has been dusted off because it makes a change to write something positive amidst the commodity-induced gloom that is now engulfing too much of the farming industry.
The following is a SWOT analysis of switching to a product-focused strategy.
HIGHER-VALUE-PRODUCT FOCUS STRENGTHS
- The positive, widespread international image of Ireland and a green Ireland
- Ireland is well suited to the production of natural, high-quality food products
- An agricultural resource base and climate that is suited to grass-fed farming
- Value-added products will not require such a production-expansion approach
- Higher-value with lower output should be environmentally more sustainable
- Lower climatic-linked risks with fewer livestock targeted at producing value
- Compact Irish agricultural industry suited to higher supply-chain traceability
- Producing high-value-added products should mean wider rural job creation
- Additional local employment can enhance family-farm household incomes
- Potential for less capital investment and the usage of more ‘artisanal’ labour
- May give more of the supply-chain margin to the farmer and local processor
- Small domestic markets suited to gradual product and market development
- Reduce farmer exposure to decisions made by a few supply-chain partners
- Farmers avoid processors over-committing them to one route-to-market
HIGHER-VALUE-PRODUCT FOCUS WEAKNESSES
- Historically the industry is dominated by agricultural commodity production
- ‘Commodity’ is embedded into the thinking of Ireland’s farming leadership
- Current processing investments still very focused on producing commodities
- National policy emphasis too much towards volume and economics of scale
- Conservative resistance to change at the both processing and the farm level
- Very little current involvement of farmers with value-added food products
- Some on-farm changes needed to produce specifically for premium foods
- Learning and training needs will be high to develop new processing skills
- Creating new food products and developing their markets will take time
- Lower population density limits sales through the likes of farmers’ markets
- Dominance of the supermarkets makes new-product market-access difficult
- Small domestic market limits scale of development before having to export
- Some target export markets are becoming more local-product orientated
- Need other characteristics to overcome being non-local in export markets
- Will need to reconfigure route-to-markets to support smaller processors
- Little history of producing designated-origin, higher-value food products
- Need to develop systems to consolidate premium products for exporting
- Developing the higher-value, consumer-foods sector will not be a quick fix
HIGHER-VALUE-PRODUCT FOCUS OPPORTUNITIES
- Greater consumer concern about eating over-processed, industrial foods
- Consumers and retailers demanding yet more traceability and provenance
- A rising consumer belief in the health benefits of eating grass-fed products
- Farming systems and stockmanship that appeal to issues-aware consumers
- Could benefit from an eat-less-meat-but-pay more-for-it consumer approach
- Possibilities to bring together multiple, positive characteristics in one product
- Increasing consumer awareness in mature markets of multi-functional foods
- Consumers’ demand for a diversity of products that reflects their ‘awareness’
- Opportunities to add value and to make each unit of farm production ‘count’
- The chance to link premium farm produce with premium-paying consumers
- Some people want to see more than just food in exchange for EU payments
- Fragmented land should make it easier for dynamic, farm-industry entrants
- Lower rural housing prices suited to artisan and/or food-sector labour force
- Increasing interest in agriculture and agri-food as a feasible career choice
- A value-added farming focus may provide more farming opportunities
- Integrated farming/processing may be more interesting to the young
HIGHER-VALUE-PRODUCT FOCUS THREATS
- Too little support for the sector from short-term-focused policy-makers
- Too many research and marketing resources going to support commodities
- Too little knowledge of international high-value consumer-product markets
- Too much focus on reducing on-farm costs and too little on enhancing value
- A farming industry that is too reluctant to change to become near-to-market
- An agricultural press that is too orientated towards supply-driven production
- Farmers’ supply-chain partners who would prefer to maintain the status quo
- Dominant down-stream players determining the agri-food sector’s direction
- Processing throughput/cost-reduction is more important than farm income
- Less dynamism caused by downstream consolidation to compete globally
- Ethical/ecological credentials not enhanced by commodity-sales focus