Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has announced a €2m fuel support scheme for specialist fruit and vegetable growers.

The scheme will be available specifically for growers producing tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, strawberries and chillies, who the Minister said are particularly impacted by the recent fuel cost increases.

The scheme is set to open next week and forms part of the €100m allocated by Government for fuel income supports for farmers, fishers and agricultural contractors in response to the Middle East crisis.

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The announcement was made on Wednesday 27 May at a meeting of the Food Vision High-Level Implementation Committee (HLIC) and a meeting of the Horticulture Industry Forum (HIF) both chaired by the Minister.

The Minister and the HLIC reviewed the progress made in implementing eight key strategic actions identified in the stakeholder-led National Strategy for Horticulture 2023-2027 since its publication in June 2023.

Midterm review

The midterm review of the National Horticulture Strategy highlighted notable achievements including:

  • The increase in the number of producers availing of the Scheme of EU aid for Producers in the fruit and vegetables sector.
  • A series of industry supported Bord Bia campaigns promoting the consumption of fresh local produce.
  • Positive engagement with retailers on the signing of a retail charter supporting Irish producers.
  • The pilot for a seasonal employment permit scheme.
  • A review of horticulture course curricula.
  • The inclusion of horticulture in the Department’s research calls.
  • Better data capture.
  • Over €2m capital investment and research funding made available for innovative primary producers to diversify and expand their businesses.

    • “I am delighted to meet representatives of Ireland’s horticulture sector, a vitally important sector, which is the fifth largest agri-food sector, accounting for around 11% of sectoral employment,” the Minister commented, speaking at the meeting.

    “The horticulture sector is well on its way to achieving the ambitions set out in the National Strategy for Horticulture 2023-2027 which seeks to drive change and growth across all the horticulture industry’s sub sectors, contributing to environmental, economic and social sustainability.

    “With support from Irish consumers, there is a significant opportunity to displace imports in favour of fresh, locally grown, in-season quality produce.”

    "While significant progress has been made on the implementation of the National Strategy for Horticulture, there remains more work to be done by all stakeholders to ensure a more profitable, value-added sector, driven by sustainability and innovation. I look forward to working with the Horticulture Industry Forum to drive those actions forward,” he said.

    Teagasc

    “The 18-strong horticulture development team in Teagasc is an important source of expertise and support for the Irish horticulture sector,” Teagasc director Frank O’Mara said.

    “There are a number of exciting developments being led by Teagasc including the establishment of an apple research orchard, which includes 52 varieties across eight different growing systems.

    “The aim of this programme is to identify apple varieties and growing systems suitable to both the Irish climate and palate to increase domestic apple production and support the substitution of imported fruit,” he explained.

    The latest developments in food innovation, the midterm review of the Forestry Programme 2023-2027 and an update on the midterm review of Food Vision 2030 were also discussed at the meeting.