Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Pippa Hackett has today (Thursday, October 20) announced that the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) is now accepting new entrants.

The scheme will remain open for applications from farmers in all sectors until December 9, 2022.

The programme for government set a target to more than triple the land area under organics by 2027 to approximately 330,000ha.

This target is also included in Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan, Food Vision 2030 and Climate Action Plan.

An enhanced budget of €256 million has been allocated to the scheme over the lifetime of the new CAP, including higher payment rates as an incentive for participating farmers.

According to the department, drystock farmers entering into the scheme could qualify for annual payments of up to €300/ha during conversion and up to €250/ha when they achieve full organic status.

It is estimated that the total payments over the lifetime of the new scheme for a drystock farmer with 40ha will be 54% higher than under the previous CAP.

There is also an annual “participation payment” of €2,000 in the first year of conversion, followed by €1,400/year thereafter.

DAFM noted that higher payment rates are available for organic horticulture and tillage farmers.

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Minister Pippa Hackett Image: Facebook

Commenting on the opening of the scheme, Minister Hackett said that the government has a “strong vision for organic farming”.

“We anticipate the huge interest among farmers to be reflected in applications to the scheme,” she said.

”The level of interest in organic farming in Ireland has never been seen before. Farm walks and information events have seen numbers of farmers that are unprecedented.

“The momentum of the organic sector is now very strongly underpinned by government policy and supported by state agencies including Teagasc and Bord Bia, as well as the private advisory services in the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) and the organic certification bodies.

“This is a great opportunity for many farmers to maximise sustainability and future-proof their business by reducing their input costs,” the Green Party minister said.

Hackett has proposed to increase the grant aid available to organic farmers for on-farm investments to 60% from January 1, 2023.

“Farmers who join the Organic Farming Scheme now have until Autumn 2023 to comply with organic livestock housing requirements, and so they have an opportunity to avail of this higher support rate,” she said.

Organic farmers will also have priority access to the new Agri-Climate Rural Environmental Scheme (ACRES) which opened for applications on Monday (October 17).

A guide to the OFS application process, terms and conditions and a payment calculator for farmers is available on the department’s website.