New funding of €200,000 for 2024 has been granted for the Social Farming Ireland Programme to support placements on social farms for people with disabilities.
The Minister of State for Disability, Anne Rabbitte announced the funding today (Friday, December 29), which will support people with disabilities to engage in activities on farms.
Such activities in the programme have included animal care, gardening and general farmyard maintenance, or indoor activities including baking and jam making.
Announcing the funding, Minister Rabbitte said: “I am delighted to announce that the Social Farming Ireland Programme has received funding for support placements on social farms for people with disabilities.
“This funding gives people with disabilities the opportunity to engage in natural community support in their local areas.
“I’ve seen first-hand the wonders this has and I’m delighted to be able to support Social Farming for a second year,” the minister added.
Social farming
Minister Rabbitte said: “Social farming has a number of benefits including those related to physical health and well-being, social connectivity, skills acquisition, confidence, capacity and vitality.
“I am pleased that this funding will enable individuals to take part in placements across Ireland and support them in being active, independent members of their communities,” Minister Rabbitte added.
Funding for the programme in 2023 supported 2,200 placement days for 203 people with disabilities on 60 social farms throughout Ireland.
To date, Social Farming Ireland has delivered over 6,300 placement days to approximately 790 participants on 77 social farms throughout the country.
The national project manager for Social Farming Ireland, Brian Smyth, said: “This funding directly from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability Integration and Youth through the HSE is very welcome as it guarantees people access to support in their own communities.
“We are very grateful to Minister Rabbitte for this, as she can see the value in community support and inclusion for people who choose these ordinary social farms to connect with others, with nature, with many and various activities in their own community for new opportunities and which enhances their lives,” he added.
Positive benefits
Meanwhile Senator Victor Boyhan, a member of the Oireachtas Committee for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, said he was excited by the potential for the Social Farming Ireland Programme because there are so many positive benefits from working on the land and with the soil.
“There is clear evidence of the promotion of health and wellbeing through social and therapeutic animal care, horticulture in rural and city farms and community gardens is very positive and beneficial to all involved.
“There is also evidence that care farming shows physical, mental, and social benefits including health, physical skills, self-esteem, mood improvement, social skills, responsibility,” the senator added.
Senator Boyhan said that funding is the biggest challenge facing care farming projects in Ireland which is why today’s announcement is very welcome.
However Senator Boyhan also told Agriland that he believes that a policy environment that could create a positive context for care farming to flourish and “move it from being a “novelty” to being more structured and part of mainstream provision would be welcome.
He is also calling on the government to provide secure, “predictable funding regimes going forward for care farming”.