A new research project is underway to learn more about what the farming community and farm families really think about organic farming.
The project, which has been launched by the Legacy4Life team at an Taisce, aims to identify real life experiences of organic farming and hear directly from farmers about what it means to them.
Legacy4Life is a two year programme which is exploring how best to develop community based supports for “Ireland’s natural environment”.
The programme is backed by the European Union and several government departments and has three specific strands:
- Promoting Ponds as Reservoirs of Biodiversity
- Advancing Farm-to-Fork
- Green Communities – Development of a Low Carbon Town Plans
One of the key objectives of the ‘Advancing Farm-to-Fork’ strand is to “promote organic farming as a viable alternative to current conventional practices”.
According to the Legacy4Life team evidence suggests that this way of farming can support farmer and rural livelihoods, wellbeing, community, and sustainability.
Organic farming, according to the research team an Taisce, has the potential to reduce “environmental impacts and enhance biodiversity”.
The team also believe it has an important role to play in climate mitigation, and Irish food security which has become a more pressing issue following Brexit, Covid-19 and now with the war in Ukraine.
Researchers are exploring what “practical barriers” may exist in Ireland to organic farming take up and aim to identify how to ease those barriers.
The Legacy4Life team are also keen to promote organic farming at “community level” and want to share the benefits and viability of organic farming by showcasing best practice examples from existing successful organic farms around the country
Another key of objective of the project is to encourage more debate about what organic farming means to farmers, stakeholders and policy makers and use this information constructively to help shape policy in the future.
One way the research team hope to encourage more conversations about different farming options and get feedback is with the launch of a new survey which can be accessed here: www.antaisce.org/survey.