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Social Farming is set to double the number of its farmer participants from 60 to 120, according to their report.
As part of the service, farmers are paid to host participants who embark on a 10-week programme on farms and take part in planned activities, including foddering stock, grooming horses or helping to grow and harvest vegetables.
The Government-funded programme provides a therapeutic day service to participants with a range of issues, including people with mental health and learning difficulties and those in long-term unemployment.
Rapid growth
The service has enjoyed rapid growth since its introduction in 2017.
Participant numbers with special needs have more than doubled from 120 to just under 300 in two years.
The service is based in the Leitrim Integrated Development Company, but has a number of regional partner organisations, including South West Mayo Development Company CLG (west region), West Limerick Resources CLG (southwest region), Waterford Leader Partnership CLG (southeast region) and Leitrim Integrated Development Company CLG (border-midlands region).
The service hopes to have at least one trained social farmer in action in every county in Ireland by the end of the year.
The ethos of the programme is to help people and improve individual and personal development.
Common Agricultural Policy
Social Farming is common practice in many European countries and could be set to play a bigger role in the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Under the last CAP proposals, an application was made to include Social Farming in a scheme that would link EU farm payments in Ireland with Social Farming.
Social Farming has a four-year contract, which began in 2017, with the Department of Agriculture and received 44% of the €1.5m Rural Innovation and Development fund in 2018.
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