Ireland will host a European-wide conference on organic farming next month.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has announced that the European Organic Congress 2026 will be hosted in Cork from October 6-8.

The event is organised by IFOAM Organics Europe, the umbrella organisation for organic food and farming across the EU.

The annual international conference will feature industry leaders from across Europe in policy, processing, farming, food and state bodies.

This year’s conference theme is 'Organics: A Strategic Investment in Europe’s Resilience'.

The department said the conference "comes at a crucial moment for the future of European agriculture".

More than 200 stakeholders across the organic supply chain will attend the event to "discuss how organics can strengthen Europe’s resilience in uncertain times", and what policy and funding priorities are needed to support the sector’s future.

According to the department, many in Europe see organics as a key part of the solution for the wider food sector in addressing challenges including climate, water quality, biodiversity, generational renewal, and female participation in farming.

Commenting on the event, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon said: "I am delighted that IFOAM Organics Europe has chosen to host the European Organic Congress in Cork during Ireland’s Presidency of the [EU] Council.

"A strong organic sector makes important contributions to Irish and EU policy priorities of food security and circularity; climate resilience; biodiversity enhancement; water quality; generational renewal; and female participation," Minister Heydon said.

He added: "Ireland has had huge success in growing organic production over the past five years.

"My department will continue to work with the sector...to provide funding, knowledge and supports to deliver the National Organic Strategy," the minister added.

Concern for organics scheme

Despite the European Organic Congress coming to Ireland, concerns were recently raised among the organic farming sector that the flagship scheme for that sector will not reopen to new entrants this year.

These concerns emerged as the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine confirmed to Agriland that the budget for the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has now been fully allocated.

The department said that, between 2023 and 2026 (inclusive) the number of farmers in the Organic Farming Scheme grew from 2,090 to 5,573.

New entrants to the OFS are given a five-year scheme contract, with the first two years seeing higher per-hectare payment levels to support the initial conversion to organic farming.

As well as that, participation payments are paid to OFS participants to cover administration costs.

The department highlighted that the OFS is part of the CAP Strategic Plan, with a commitment of €256 million for the scheme.

"Based on applications in the scheme and associated five-year contracts, this funding is fully committed," the department said.