Mr Pat O'Neill, the former managing director of Glanbia, will chair a high-level committee to map out the future of agriculture and the food industry.
Called "The Agenda 2010 Committee", its terms of reference are to propose a strategy for the development of the industry following the Agenda 2000 agreement and the changes likely to develop nationally and internationally during the next decade.
Making the announcement, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh, said the Irish agri-food sector had a solid framework for development but significant achievements should not lead to complacency.
He said that the agri-food sector accounted for 13 per cent of GDP, 12 per cent of employment and one-third of the Republic's net foreign earnings.
The other members of the committee are: Mr Frank Allen, ICMSA; Mr Dan Browne, Dawn Meats; Mr Noel Cawley, Irish Dairy Board; Mr Niall Fitzgerald, Unilever Plc; Ms Carmel Foley, Director of Consumer Affairs; Mr Joe Healy, a farmer; Mr John Kane, SIPTU; Dr Jim O'Grady, IAWS; Dr Patricia O' Hara, Western Development Commission; Mr Tom Parlon, IFA; Mr Seamus Scally, Musgrave Group; and Dr Seamus Sheehy, UCD.