Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Andrew Doyle has said that he fully expects that there will be a new organic scheme under the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

In a statement on Thursday in response to the Irish Farmers Journal story which revealed that only 55 applicants were accepted into the organic scheme after 225 farmers applied, Minister Doyle said that in 95% of the unsuccessful applications the predominant enterprises were not from the targeted sectors identified when the scheme was launched.

Right of appeal

“All unsuccessful applicants were given a right of appeal to the organic unit of my Department,” Minister Doyle said.

He said that the organic scheme more than achieved its targets in terms of new land converted and the maintenance of organic land.

“The area of land under organic production has expanded dramatically as a direct result of my Department's investment.

"Latest figures indicate that there are now some 72,000ha under organic production, an increase of nearly 50% on the position at the start of the programme in 2014.

“Indeed, the target for the RDP was to attract some 16,000ha of new land into production and to support 46,000ha of converted land. These targets have been more than exceeded,” he said.

Target sectors

Minister Doyle highlighted how he established an organic sector strategy group last year comprising relevant stakeholders and state bodies.

“Part of the remit of the strategy group was to consider the case for a possible re-opening of the Organic Farming Scheme. They recommended that it should be re-opened, but on a targeted basis.

“The areas targeted were areas for which there is a clear market demand, and which are critical to the further development of the organic sector, namely horticulture, cereals and dairy.

"This recommendation acknowledged that the budget was very limited given the success of the current scheme and the overall spending within the RDP,” he said.

Market and consumer demands

In developing the strategy for the development of the organic sector, he said the strategy group focused on the current production profile of the Irish organic sector and market opportunities.

“Having considered same, the group concluded that while the area under organic production has increased, production patterns are not fully aligned with market opportunities. Most organic farmers are engaged in beef and/or sheep production with a relatively low number engaged in tillage and dairy.

“According to Bord Bia research, categories with the greatest growth potential in the domestic market are fruit and vegetables, and dairy. The current profile of the organic sector, with a predominance of beef and lamb production, was perceived therefore as limiting the potential to avail of the growth opportunities that exist.

Insufficient supply

“The insufficient supply of organic cereals and proteins, highlighted by the SWOT analysis of the organic sector and through the public consultation process, was deemed to be inhibiting the growth of the dairy, meat and aquaculture sectors.

"This deficit in supply necessitates importation thus increasing costs of production and therefore impacting competitiveness.

“Targeting tillage was deemed to be the best route to address the inhibiting effect of the current deficit on the growth of other organic sectors,” he said.

He added that based on this research and analysis of the current profile of the Irish organic sector, the organic strategy group therefore concluded that the key to long-term sustainable growth is to ensure that the further development of organic production is aligned to market requirements and consumer demand.

“To this end, it was decided that the areas to be targeted in a re-opened Organic Farming Scheme should be horticulture, dairy and tillage,” he said.

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