The reopening of the Organic Farming Scheme for new applications from farmers has been announced.
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine senator Pippa Hackett made the announcement today (Monday, March 1).
The reopening is expected to result in an increase of up to 30% in the number of farmers farming organically in Ireland this year.
The scheme will be open to applications from all sectors from today and it will remain open until Friday, April 30, 2021.
Higher payment rates are available for organic horticulture and tillage farmers.
Conversion
Announcing the opening of the scheme, Minister Hackett said: “This is a really good scheme which provides farmers with the support they need to go organic so I would really encourage those considering conversion to engage with it.
“Going organic can lead to higher prices and more sustainable way of farming. It’s less intensive, and it embraces nature and natural processes to produce organic food, for which there is a growing demand both in Ireland and across Europe.”
Encouraging farmers to apply for the scheme, the minister added:
I believe that the significant level of funding provided for this new scheme will facilitate the entry of 400-500 new farmers into the organic farming system.
“This should allow scope for plenty of successful applications from all types of enterprises and I would encourage farmers in all sectors to consider applying.”
The minister said: “The scheme and funding are closely aligned to the targets in the National Organic Farming Strategy to 2025 and will help us deliver on them.
Priority sectors
“In the event of the scheme being oversubscribed, I will be prioritising those sectors for which most market demand exists, namely the dairy, horticulture and tillage sectors, but I also want to encourage young farmers to convert to organic farming so I will be making provision in the selection process to achieve this too.
I have also ensured that farmers who were not successful in gaining entry to the previous scheme, but who have continued to farm organically, have their commitment acknowledged, through priority access.
According to the department, if the scheme is over-subscribed, successful applications will be determined by a ranking and selection process.
Marks will be awarded for each sector with the aim of increasing the area under organic production, while prioritising areas deemed to be in deficit.
The areas deemed to be in deficit by the Organic Strategy Group are dairy, tillage and horticulture, the department added.
Applications for the scheme must be made online through the department’s online system agfood.ie.