One of the biggest benefits of being an organic farmer is being able to “reduce your costs hugely” – that is according to the head of the organics division in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
Jack Nolan believes the “sky is the limit for organics in Ireland” and according to Mary Lynch, an organic specialist with the Agricultural Consultants’ Association (ACA), nearly every farmer in Ireland knows “someone in the parish” who is an organic farmer.
“Everything is positive around organic at the moment, which it wouldn’t have been 10 years ago – there is a lot of help and support there, it’s easier to source organic seed, organic feed and source stock and it’s an easier choice for farmers,” she said.
“Most farmers understand that their input costs are going up and one of the way they can control that is by going organic and cutting their input costs,” Lynch said.
Both participated in the latest instalment of Agriland’s Organics Series, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) this week.
Organic markets
Much of the optimism currently in the sector is driven by the strong financial supports that are currently available and according to Emmet Doyle organic sector manager with Bord Bia, the fact that there is a strong market for organics both in the domestic market and the export market.
According to Doyle it is vital that Ireland plays to its organic strengths in key export markets and one way Bord Bia plans to do that is with a new €2.7 million promotion campaign that will kick off in June in four markets – Germany, Sweden, Austria and Belgium.
He said that the clear differentiator for Ireland in these markets is “pasture raised” organic beef and lamb and that over the next three years there will be a big focus on participating in trade shows, organising organic meat academies and educating trade buyers about the quality of Ireland’s systems.
Bord Bia also plans to bring between 80 to 100 buyers and media professionals to Ireland over the three years so they can walk “on farm” and see the difference for themselves.
Organics Series panel discussion
As the number of organic farmers in Ireland reaches over 5,000, the panel discussion focused on the challenges and opportunities that impact this growing sector.
The conversation, filmed at Agriland Media studios in Dublin, also examined why farmers should consider switching to organic farming, and looked at the market demand for Irish organic produce both domestically and internationally.
The role played by advisors in guiding farmers through the two-year conversion phase also came under the spotlight.
Under Ireland’s Climate Action Plan there is a target of 10% of the country’s land area being farmed organically by the end of this decade.
Currently, around 5% of land (225,000ha) in the country is being farmed organically.
The government enhanced the budget for organics to €256 million in Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan, with increased payments on offer for farmers.
Over 1,000 farmers joined the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) this year and it is anticipated that a similar number will apply to join the scheme when it reopens for applications around October.
The Organics Series running this week on Agriland had included interviews, a farm visit and a panel discussion.
Earlier this week, Agriland spoke with Minister of State at the DAFM, Pippa Hackett and Teagasc organic tillage specialist, Martin Bourke.
Agriland tillage reporter Richard Halloren also visited the farm of Liam O’Toole in Co. Wicklow where the farmer shared his journey of partial organic conversion of his tillage ground.
For more on the series click here.