Farmers will be eligible to receive both the agroforestry and organic farming payment on the same area of land, Minister of State with at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Pippa Hackett has confirmed.
Speaking to Agriland, the minister with responsibility for forestry said “I was pleased to clarify that farmers are eligible to receive both agroforestry and organic payments on the same land”.
The move has been widely welcomed by both those working in the industry and their representative organisations including the Organic Trust.
“This link has been made possible as these two systems compliment each other and can be adapted to integrate with many existing farm systems.
“It is a progressive step to creating an adaptive, financially resilient, and environmentally sensitive farm systems and strengthening livelihoods in rural Ireland,” it said in a statement.
The organisation said its members worked alongside the Irish Agroforestry Forum (IAF) to identify some of the barriers to uptake of agroforestry, and report back to policymakers.
Clive Bright, farmer and founding board member of the IAF said this week’s development is very welcome.
“This is fantastic news as it removes a major stumbling block and will now make the agroforestry scheme a realistic option for organic farmers.
“This will result in more trees with a multitude of benefits on farms across the country,” he added.
Minister Hackett announced yesterday (Wednesday, November 23) that approximately 1,000 farmers are set to receive advanced payments worth €5.3 million under the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS).
According to the minister, the total sum of the payments is an increase of €1.3 million on the figure from last year, which she said represents the growing interest in organics.
The Organic Trust stated that since the OFS was announced in October, it has been dealing with high volumes of information and application queries.
“There is no sign of interest dying down due to increasing numbers of attendees, both farmers and horticulture producers, at recent Organic Trust OFS webinars as well as interest from the public at events and open days,” said a spokesperson for the organisation.
It added that it expects to get all those who have contacted them for help with applications registered with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) by the closing date of December 9.