A new National Organic Strategy for 2024-2030 has been launched by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State, Senator Pippa Hackett today (Wednesday, September 18).
The strategy aims to increase the share of land being farmed organically from approximately 5% this year to 10% by 2030, and to treble the wholesale value of organic output to €750 million by the end of the decade.
The National Organic Strategy 2024-2030 launched at the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Co. Laois today is built around six core strategic priorities with actions identified to drive sector growth up to 2030.
The key priorities identified are: Supporting organic farming participation; coordinating the value chain; growing the domestic market; driving export growth; expanding public procurement; and boosting skills and support.
The ambitions to 2030 set out in the strategy include:
- Organic beef numbers will double in 2025 compared to this year, estimated to increase to 12,000t by 2030 from 4,000t today;
- Organic sheep numbers will treble in 2026 compared to this year, estimated to increase to 3,000t to 2030 from approximately 500t today;
- Milk production could double to 40 million litres by 2030 from approximately 20 million today;
- Tillage area expected to more than double by 2030, oats and combi-crops (protein and cereal) offer major opportunities;
- A DAFM organic feed survey estimates a need for 50,000t of livestock feed (concentrates and straights) this winter. Approximately 30,000t of this will be imported;
- Poultry production could increase significantly from today with potential for a 50% increase in egg production to 53 million eggs annually;
- Pork has major opportunities to grow particularly though direct sales albeit from a low base;
- Reduce imports of horticultural produce from accounting for approximately 70% of retail sales in Ireland today, to less than 50% by 2030.
The strategy sets out the provision of financial and technical assistance to encourage participation in organic farming, the facilitation of access to land and resources for aspiring organic farmers, and the implementation of specific initiatives to attract young farmers.
National Organic Strategy
Speaking at the launch, Minister McConalogue said he committed €256 million to organic farming in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan and said it is “rewarding” to see that investment “beginning to bear fruit”.
The Organic Strategy Forum, led by Padraig Brennan, produced a strategy that is “balanced and credible” and identifies a “significant opportunity” for Ireland in moving to a position of world leadership in organic farming, he added.
“I welcome the focus on ensuring that organic farmers, fishers and food producers are competitive and productive, with enhanced well-being and economic sustainability.
“The incomes of our producers are central and critical to the success of our strategy, as they are the bedrock of our world-class organic agri-food sector,” the minister said.
“A key element of our ambition is to increase organic processing capacity, and this year we doubled the support available and increased the grant rate significantly in response to the growing demand for Irish organic produce.
“Organic farming delivers for climate, water quality, biodiversity and soil. We have made huge strides over the first half of this decade and this strategy sets out the roadmap to do even more between now and 2030,” Minister Hackett added.
The chair of the Organic Forum said the implementation plan clearly outlines the responsibilities of each stakeholder to ensure the delivery of our collective ambitions.
“This will drive the work programme of the Organic Forum in the period ahead, and ensure that we position the organic sector strongly in Ireland, and, increasingly, in export markets,” Brennan added.