The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Senator Pippa Hackett has welcomed the inaugural meeting of a new Organic Strategy Forum.
The stakeholder group tasked with driving growth of the organic sector gathered for the first time yesterday (Wednesday, April 13).
There are 24 members of the forum which is chaired by former Bord Bia director turned consultant, Padraig Brennan.
It also includes representatives from the farming and food processing sector; organic certification bodies; and state agencies.
Organic forum
The forum’s first meeting focused on an overview of the Irish organic sector with presentations from DAFM; Teagasc; Bord Bia; and Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).
In 2021, there were 90,000ha under organic production, up from 74,000ha in the previous year. The number of producers rose from 1,777 to 1,968 last year.
Last year, almost 5,300ha was used to produce organic cereals, pulses and oats, while 586ha produced organic vegetables, potatoes and fruit.
Almost 62,000 cattle were in organic enterprises, including 4,736 dairy cows. There were over 166,000 broilers and layers in organic poultry operations.
Bord Bia told the meeting that an organic branding package or toolkit is due to be rolled out to major multiple retailers next month. This aims to help supermarkets to promote Irish organic produce.
The national food board will also be attending BIOFACH – the world’s leading trade fair for organic food – in Germany in July 2022.
Along with ongoing research, farm walks and courses, Teagasc is to build up its organic advisory capacity.
Minister Pippa Hackett noted that the immediate focus of the forum will be the continued implementation of the National Organic Strategy 2025.
“It was encouraging to hear that there was strong consensus that there is huge untapped opportunity for the sector both in Ireland and internationally but that availing of these will require the right level of supports and innovation.
“I want the forum members to play an active role in developing the programme of work needed to boost production of organic food in Ireland and they can be assured in turn of the full support of my department in this,” the minister commented.
Padraig Brennan said that he was delighted to chair the high-level group.
“Our meeting involved input from all participants that revealed the underlying commitment and professionalism of the sector at large and also displayed a tenacity to establish the organic sector as a mainstream pillar of the Irish agri-food landscape.
“We will be setting ourselves an ambitious work programme and I look forward to working with all participants on implementing this,” he stated.
Further meetings of the forum are planned for June, September and December 2022 with each gathering examining a particular area of the sector that needs further development.