The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has said that all applicants to the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) must be accepted.
IFA Organic Project Team chair, John Curran said that it was “positive” that 2,000 farmers sought to join the scheme by the closing date of December 9.
An enhanced budget of €256 million has been allocated to the OFS over the lifetime of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), including higher payment rates as an incentive for participating farmers.
The programme for government set a target to more than triple the land area under organics by 2027 to approximately 330,000ha.
Organic Farming Scheme
“It’s a move in the right direction for the sector to increase the critical mass of farmers in organic farming. All applicants must be guaranteed entry to the scheme,” Curran said.
However, the IFA representative said that more must be done to enhance organic farming in Ireland.
“The sector remains under-resourced in terms of research and education, market diversification and knowledge transfer.
“It is now time that all key stakeholders put their shoulder to the wheel to ensure that the necessary resources are in place to help these 2,000 farmers along the conversion process.”
Curran acknowledged that additional resources have been put in place by Teagasc and Bord Bia to fund specialist organic positions.
He added that a strong market must be developed to deliver a premium for all organic farmers.
“We cannot have a situation where the market is saturated for existing farmers, or that any existing premium is lost.
“Given the ambition to grow organic farming at European level and under the Programme for Government, it is imperative that the sector continues to receive appropriate support in terms of advisory and knowledge transfer so that farmers can make an informed decision on opportunities available to them,” Curran said.