Margaret Edgill

Margaret Edgill Nuffield Scholar 2023

Margaret Edgill, Organic Farmer & Artisan Food Producer, Co. Offaly

Margaret Edgill is an organic farmer, artisan food producer and grower in Daingean, Co. Offaly. Margaret is a graduate from UCD Michael Smurfit School of Business with an MBs specialising in Tourism. Since her return to the family farm in 2012 after a career in the Arts & Event Management sector spanning 13 years, she has been pioneering in her capacity to innovate. Margaret’s own farm diversification strategy has been centred on connecting food & farming harmoniously.

Margaret’s Nuffield Study is ‘Agriculture & tourism synergy: paving the way for farm diversification and rural prosperity’

Esecutive Summary:

Agri-food and tourism, which have traditionally been two of our strongest indigenous enterprise sectors, are built on the natural and human capital found in rural areas. This research was informed and guided by the relevant global, EU, national, regional and local policies.

There were 6.3 million international visitors to Ireland in 2023 with an estimated expenditure €7.3 billion (Central Statistics Office June 2024). Domestic tourism was valued at 2.93M (CSO 2022). Tourism is one of Ireland’s most important industries, contributing to the economic and social fabric of the island. It is a leading creator of jobs and revenue, and one of the few sectors that has the potential to significantly benefit remote rural areas. Tourism activity in Ireland is associated with over 4% of direct GVA (CS0 2022) while the agri-food sector in 2021 was 3.8% (CSO 2021).

The National Farm Survey Viability of Farms by System, 2021 found that 37% of cattle farms, both rearing and other, are vulnerable. These cattle farms tend to the smallest farms at around 34 ha each. Accordingly, there are over 24,500 vulnerable farms with 50% in the Eastern and Midland Region, 37% in the Northern & Western Region and 24% in the Southern Region. A farm is considered to be economically vulnerable if the farm business is not viable and if neither farmer nor spouse works off farm.

Historically one type of diversification is widely practised on Irish farms that of off-farm income. Accordingly, 34% of NFS farms are ‘sustainable’ due to off-farm income (NFS 2021).

Driven by global trends of concentration, low commodity prices and rising input costs, agricultural producers worldwide are looking at new opportunities to diversify and add revenue streams to their business. A popular and growing opportunity is agritourism.

Farm diversification is the process of a farm expanding its business activities beyond the traditional farming enterprise in order to add value to its produce, build resilience, increase business profitability, reduce market and price volatility, and highlight supply chain provenance.

What is Agritourism?
Agritourism is a type of experiential travel which connects people to product or produce, delivered on farming land through a direct ‘on farm’ experience.

The global agritourism market size was valued at USD57bn in 2023 and is projected to reach USD80bn by 2028 exhibiting a CAGR of 7%. Europe dominated the agritourism market with a market share of 47.07% in 2019. (The Business Research Company).

It became abundantly clear whilst undertaking extensive primary & secondary research that numerous international diversified farm enterprises had experienced policy supports which facilitated their growth.

This immediately raised a flag as to why our respective Department of Agriculture & Marine and Dept. of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media which had customarily presented strategic vision, ability and expertise. Moreover, our boundless ‘green reputation’ is the envy of our international counterparts why were we failing a just transition where “no farmer should be left behind” as we forge our way to a carbon neutral society.

The research subsequently focused on:

  • Key enablers for farm diversification.
  • Challenges and barriers to building synergy.
  • Government initiatives propelling global agritourism market expansion and;
  • Policy lessons from international agritourism models.

Agritourism will be a significant growth industry for Ireland’s rural economy and more especially pivotal in future proofing farm incomes, providing opportunities for multi-generational farm enterprises and succession planning.

In conclusion, it is a priority to develop a National Agritourism Strategy the success of which will be enabled by:

  • Aligned, engaged and supportive stakeholders
  • Funding support for financial and human resources
  • The right policy and regulatory environment
  • Access to quality insights,
  • A focus on community, cultural, economic and environmental sustainability
  • Positioning Ireland’s agritourism offering as an industry for the future
  • Designed to raise confidence, build capacity and inspire action
  • A partnership of Agriculture and Tourism that can build rural resilience & economic growth.

Agriculture & tourism synergy: paving the way for farm diversification and rural prosperity.