Over €1m in Organic Farming Scheme 2020 balancing payments are to hit farmer accounts on Monday, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Pippa Hackett has confirmed.

Payments under the scheme will issue to over 1,300 organic farmers from Monday, with further payments to issue in the coming weeks.

“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,” Minister Hackett said.

Ambitious plans

The minister said there was a wide geographic spread of interest to the reopening of the scheme in March of this year.

“The Organic Farming Scheme is a key support measure to assist organic farmers in responding to the increasing consumer demand for organically produced food.

“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.”