CAFRE students compete in the Great Agri-Food Debate
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Students from the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) recently took part in the 10th Annual Great Agri-Food Debate.
The team comprised of students from Greenmount Campus and Loughry Campus. Taking on Team Captain, Caleb Orr was joined by Niamh Reid, Jane May and TJ Hamilton, (BSc (Hons) Agricultural Technology students) alongside Grace Hunter (BSc (Hons) Food Innovation and Nutrition student) and Jessica Cuthbertson (BSc (Hons) Food Business Management).
In the quarter final of the competition, the team was challenged to propose the motion that “EU/UK budgetary pressures and changing priorities are a greater risk to UK/Irish farming than the Mercosur agreement" against their opponents Munster Technological University (MTU).
After a lively debate, the team was successful in this round and progressed on to the semi-finals, held at South East Technological University (SETU) Waterford. CAFRE Food Degree student Jessica Cuthbertson was awarded Best Speaker for this round.
The four teams who participated in the semi-finals were CAFRE, University College Dublin (UCD), University College Cork (UCC) and SETU. In this round, the CAFRE team was allocated to oppose the motion “It is ethical to use high-quality agricultural land for solar energy farms.” Proposing the motion was UCD, who won the round following much deliberation from the judging panel.
The CAFRE team found the Great Agri-Food Debate to be an invaluable experience. Jessica Cuthbertson commented: “The Great Agri-Food Debate pushed me to think sharper, speak clearer and value the importance of preparation.” Agriculture student TJ Hamilton reflected: “The more perspectives I heard, the more my own perspective grew.”
CAFRE’s staff and students would like to thank Dawn Meats and McDonald’s for organising and supporting the Great Agri-Food Debate. This annual event provides an inspiring platform for the next generation of agri-food leaders to take centre stage and share their knowledge and passion for agri-food topical issues.
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