Meet the Young farmer in the city!

Visitors to Family Farm, Dublin Zoo this summer will be able to learn all about Irish farming and food production via Agri Aware's resident 'Young Farmers'. Meath native, Ronan Smith, and Shauna Conlon from Westmeath, have taken up duty at Family Farm, developed by Agri Aware and Dublin Zoo. They will engage the visiting public in the importance of Irish farming and food production, whilst explaining the benefits of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to the tens of thousands of visitors, young and old, who come to Family Farm in Dublin Zoo during the summer months. Through interactive educational activities and guided tours of Family Farm, local, national and international visitors will learn about the resident farm animals in Dublin Zoo and the importance of Irish agriculture.

The 'Meet the Farmer in the city' programme is a key element of Agri Aware's 'Be Agri Aware-Put your thinking CAP on' CAP after 2013 communication campaign. The campaign is currently being delivered by Agri Aware, the independent Irish agri-food educational body. It aims to communicate the many benefits of the CAP after 2013 to the general public and farmers across Ireland, North and South. The message to this audience is that CAP delivers safe, quality and traceable food that is affordable for consumers, in addition to the highest animal welfare and environmental standards and clean rivers and lakes, whilst also ensuring food security. It also ensures the sustainable management of our natural resources and the development of our rural areas.

'Be Agri Aware - Put your thinking CAP on!' encompasses a year-long programme of communication initiatives and events, including advertisements in cinemas and on national television, billboards and radio and newspaper adverts, among others. The innovative and original educational, information and communication campaign is co-financed by the EU Commission's Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development and was awarded to Agri Aware following a competitive bidding process. The campaign is also supported by the IFA and FBD, in addition to Agri Aware's other patrons.

Agri Aware's Chairman, Richard Moeran said "Agri Aware's new CAP communication campaign, 'Be Agri Aware, put your thinking CAP on!' began in June 2015, and will continue through to April of 2016, Agri Aware will communicate the many benefits of the reformed CAP to both the general public and farmers, across the island of Ireland. Our message is crystal clear, CAP delivers safe, quality and traceable food that is affordable to the consumer."

Chief Executive of Agri Aware, Dr. Vanessa Woods said: "Agri Aware is communicating the CAP after 2013 to urban and rural people of all ages, across Ireland until next April. The campaign encompasses numerous novel methods of communication to engage everyone in CAP. We will communicate this complex policy in a simple, effective and engaging way. This summer, the public should watch out for Agri Aware's TV and cinema advertisements, as well as our novel and eye-catching billboards in major cities across Ireland, North and South. We are really delighted to win this significant bid for Agri Aware for the third consecutive year and I look forward to delivering a memorable CAP communication campaign with the European Commission and our patrons".

Further details on the CAP after 2013 are available on the Agri Aware website