0:01:23 > 0:01:27'The right kind of insurance for your farm. No big deal, just...'
0:01:27 > 0:01:29MURMUR OF CONVERSATIONS
0:02:19 > 0:02:23Given the... I suppose, the challenging economic times that we're in,
0:02:23 > 0:02:25agri-food has continued to grow -
0:02:25 > 0:02:273.7 billion turnover in 2010.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29That's up 8% from the year before.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31So throughout all this difficult time,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35agri-food continues to grow, so it's vitally important to economic recovery.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38I'm putting it centre stage at the Executive in the Assembly
0:02:38 > 0:02:45to make sure everybody realises that this is the sector that can lead us out of economic recession.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58'That's just the nature of our economy, locally - it's made up of the small businesses, so...
0:02:58 > 0:03:01'And you can see by all the exhibitors that are here today,'
0:03:01 > 0:03:04it's all small companies that are here making their mark,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07and we have to do all that we can in government to support them
0:03:07 > 0:03:10to achieve, I suppose, and to continue to grow.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06WIND HOWLS
0:15:15 > 0:15:19Northern Ireland's made up of small companies, employing three or four people, and our ethos here...
0:15:19 > 0:15:24We're a local employer and I think people here want to see, you know...
0:15:24 > 0:15:26our workers want to see our business work and, you know,
0:15:26 > 0:15:30we've a fantastic product that's been winning awards on the world stage
0:15:30 > 0:15:36and that, coupled with the sales to different countries, has helped us to increase our business.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51I mean, looking at the taxation on excise duty,
0:15:51 > 0:15:56erm...the amount of money that goes into the revenue for fuel -
0:15:56 > 0:16:03we're quite a large user of electricity and user of fuels, and that hurts.
0:16:03 > 0:16:10I think there should be a scale to allow smaller businesses to decrease fuel duty possibly,
0:16:10 > 0:16:16but it's...implementation of rates and other things are quite worrying for the businesses.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05We've invested to allow ourselves to increase the size of our production capacities.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08We have been fortunate through this recession
0:18:08 > 0:18:13to get into new markets in overseas countries, in France and in Italy,
0:18:13 > 0:18:15and that has helped us, but it is...
0:18:15 > 0:18:20Times in all businesses are tight and you have to watch all your spend.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21BIRDSONG
0:26:44 > 0:26:47- A lovely day for outdoor cooking(!) - There's nothing we can do about it.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51- It smells fantastic. What is it? - It's a pumpkin soup.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54So we're going to add your pumpkins to the soup.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58- They're small, but they're tasty. - Small but nice!- Small but nice!
0:26:58 > 0:27:04- You're adding my five and Maire's one...- Yes.- ..to this broth?
0:27:04 > 0:27:07OK, so everybody know where we stand on this - my five and Maire's one.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23And there's the peas we planted a while ago.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25What's going to become of them now?
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Well, the pea shoots have been great.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29We've been picking away at them
0:27:29 > 0:27:32and eating them and they're treated like a salad leaf almost.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36It gives you that fresh taste of pea.
0:27:46 > 0:27:51I'm taking all the credit for something I should be getting absolutely none for. Here you are.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Did he say that he'd made it as well?
0:29:02 > 0:29:07Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing by Red Bee Media Ltd