The Irish organic sector is experiencing real momentum currently. In January, the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) numbers doubled from 2,000 to 4,000 farmers.

With this increase in organic farmers, the proportion of Irish land being farmed organically stands at 4%, up from about 2% in 2022, according to Teagasc.

This rapid rise in organic farms, means Ireland has a new target of 10% of land to be farmed organically by 2027, under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan. This is up from the previous target of 7.5%.

To support the growing numbers of organic farmers, Teagasc and the Agricultural Consultants Associations (ACA) have increased their number of dedicated organic advisors across all regions of the country.

The Department of Agriculture has allocated €1.5 million in funding from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) to support the promotion and market development of the Irish organic sector.

Organics in Ireland – the numbers:

90%+ of farmers in the Organic Farming Scheme are from the beef and sheep sector;
12,500 organic cattle were slaughtered in 2022, while 11,500 were slaughtered in 2021;
Approximately 17,000 organic sheep were slaughtered in 2022;
50% of organic lamb production and 55% of organic beef production is exported
23 million litres of organic milk was produced in 2022;
3,522ha of organic cereals were grown in 2022 up from 1,764 in 2017.

Export markets

It is expected that over 75% of Irish organic beef and lamb production will be exported by 2027.

While for Irish organic dairy over 90% of organic farmhouse cheese will be exported in this same period.

The key markets for this growth will be in the UK and Continental Europe in the short to medium term. It is predicted that in the long-term international markets such as the Middle East, the US and South East Asia will become more prominent for Irish organic food and drink exports.

Irish organic sector

In Ireland, to help build the awareness of Irish organics for Irish shoppers, Bord Bia will be launching its first national organic marketing campaign in October 2023.

The focus of this campaign will be to demonstrate the quality and value of Irish organic food and drink while noting that Ireland is on a journey to produce more organic food over the next decade.

The campaign will be rolled out in October and include multiple consumer touchpoints across online, digital, print, radio and brand ambassador activities.

EU Funding

In April, Bord Bia submitted an application to the EU for a €2.7 million co funded campaign to promote Irish organic beef and lamb in four export markets of Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Austria.

If successful this campaign will kick off in March 2024 and run for three years.

The target will be trade buyers and the plan includes trade shows, bringing buyers and trade media to Ireland, and the establishment of organic meat academies. These industry focused events with Irish organic experts will demonstrate and educate export trade customers on the quality and benefits of Irish organic meat.

Consumer research

Running from January to June, Bord Bia conducted a six-month market research project involving 2,500 Irish shoppers to learn more about attitudes to organic produce.

Some key feedback included:

88% of all Irish shoppers buy organic food and drink;
Eggs and vegetables are the largest categories for organic shoppers;
One in two of all shoppers buy organic dairy and/or organic meat on a weekly basis;
Over the next 12 months, 95% of all Irish shoppers will look to maintain or increase their level of organic consumption. Of those, 45% of all shoppers plan to increase their level of organic purchases.

Future prospects

In the short term, there are challenges for the sector that Bord Bia is working with stakeholders across the industry to address. Leakage for example, continues to be a challenge for the organic sheep sector.

In response to this, initiatives such as exploring the establishment of organic producer groups particularly for finishing organic sheep, educating customers around seasonality and dedicated organic mart sales are all being progressed to support organic sheep farmers.

For more information on Bord Bia's work with farmers and growers, click here.