Minister of State Pippa Hackett has announced the commencement of the 2020 balancing payments for the Organic Farming Scheme.
Payments of over €1 million under this scheme will commence issuing to over 1,300 farmers from today (Monday, May 17) with further payments to issue in the coming weeks.
1,530 organic farmers in the scheme
This round of payments is the balancing payment amounting to 15% of the full annual payment due under the scheme; the 85% advance payment was issued in November 2020 to the scheme participants in accordance with EU rules.
At present, there are 1,530 organic farmers participating in the scheme and annual payments under the scheme amount to approximately €9 million.
95% of farmers in the scheme accepted the offer of an extension of their contract in December 2020.
Increased number of farmers by 20%
The minister commented: “This was due to be the final payment to farmers under the scheme but I am pleased not only that my department was able to offer an extension of the contract to all the farmers who had a contract expiring, but also the exceptionally high uptake of the extension by those farmers.
“The Organic Farming Scheme is a key support measure to assist organic farmers in responding to the increasing consumer demand for organically produced food.
“I was pleased to reopen the scheme for new applicants in March this year and welcome the wide geographic spread of interest in the scheme.
“We’ve increased the number of organic farmers in Ireland this year by 20% as a result and this is only the start of our ambitious plans for the growth of the sector.”
2021 Organic Farming Scheme uptake
Ireland’s share of total agricultural land currently under organic production is around 2% (74,000ha), one of the lowest in Europe.
317 applications were received in respect of the 2021 Organic Farming Scheme.
When opening the scheme, Minister of State Pippa Hackett said that the “significant level of funding provided for this new scheme” would facilitate the entry of 400 to 500 farmers into organic farming.
Funding of €4 million was allocated to facilitate the re-opening of the scheme in 2021.