Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Pippa Hackett, gave her further support for the move towards organic and regenerative farming at the National Organic Training Skillsnet (NOTS) BioFarm 2023 conference in Adare, Co. Limerick, this week.
In her address she confirmed that the number of organic farms in Ireland had doubled over the past year, indicating that the country was well on its way to achieving the EU-set target of 25% of farmland being organic by 2030.
As an organic farmer herself she brought to the room some of her experience of moving away from conventional growing to a system that places greater reliance on the farmer’s own judgements.
One of the great benefits of doing so, she said, is that it brings back control of the farm to the owner or tenant, a sentiment echoed by many of the speakers on the day.
However, she also noted that it was not always an easy transition and it required a significant shift in mindset to leave the comfort of a prescriptive method and take on board a new knowledge that considers the farm in a different light.
Help at hand at BioFarm 2023
Minister Hackett also pointed out that organisations like NOTS are on hand to help spread the knowledge and expertise that is required to fully embrace organic farming.
She outlined that the conference was a great opportunity to share experience and expertise in a formal event, with much benefit to be gained from the informal discussions being held around it.
The minister also took care to point out that it was not just about organic farming, there was much to be said for the conventional agriculture.
Rather than think of it as an ‘us and them’ situation, she urged that conference attendees celebrate the best of both systems and encouraged the cross fertilisation of ideas and practices.
The emphasis should be on sustainability and the government was not demanding an overnight switch, but was encouraging a gradual transition through subsidy and knowledge transfer, she indicated.