Food sector support has fallen short, says minister

The annual festival had been running for 15 years before it was axed

Government support for the Isle of Man's food sector has fallen "short of the mark" over the past few years, the minister for environment, food and agriculture has said.

It follows the department's decision to scrap the annual Isle of Man Food and Drink Festival as part of a move to "renew" its focus to "meet the needs of a wider group of producers".

Clare Barber told MHKs how in recent years the festival had seen falling numbers with 5,000 attending last year compared to 8,000 at the previous event, and had also received negative feedback from producers.

However, the department "remained open" to the festival returning in the future at a different site.

'Regional events'

Ms Barber said that the "one size fits all" approach in a wide group of producers, meant that some "had little support" and, for some, travelling into Douglas was "not on their radar".

Therefore, the department was looking into providing a series of regional events, as well as working with the Department for Enterprise to offer "year round retail opportunities".

At full operation, the festival contributed between £300,000 and £320,000 to the local economy, and costed about £84,000 to organise, Ms Barber said.

David Ashford, MHK for Douglas North, said since 2018 the event had contributed £1.6 million to the economy and questioned whether the alternatives being proposed would have that same impact.

But Ms Barber said she believed "we can do better" and that if the event took place indoors it could be delivered "for less money".

She acknowledged she would have "preferred" to have given more notice about the cancellation of the event.