A webinar hosted by the Department of Agriculture on Wednesday 7 June at 11.30am will present the findings of market research carried out by Bord Bia regarding sales of organic produce.

The number of farmers converting to organic farming has jumped in the last 18 months on the back of attractive premium and a number of other policy incentives.

However, there is a big challenge in that there is a lack of a premium market for organic produce with significant leakage from organic sheep and beef farming.

It will, therefore, be interesting to hear if the findings from the Bord Bia research present any good news on the market front.

Funding

The organic unit in the Department of Agriculture will also present details on the newly launch Organic Processors Investment Grant.

The investment grant has funding of €1.7m, with €1.2m stemming from the Department of Agriculture reserves, while the remaining €500,000 has been allocated from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR).

The organic sector was recently awarded €1.5m in BAR funding, with €1m allocated to Bord Bia for the promotion and development of the organic sector.

The webinar is free to attend and registration can be carried out here.