Vol. 461 No. 7
273 Mr. Cowen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry whether £1 million has been provided for the marketing, distribution and processing of organic products; if so, the agency that has control of this money; the total spent to date; the projects financed; the plans, if any, he has for the fund of the remainder of its duration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3534/96]
An indicative amount of £1 million has been provided for the development of the organic farming sector under the Operational Programme for Agriculture. Rural Development and Forestry, 1994-99. Under the Scheme of Aid for the Development of the Organic Sector aid is available under two headings viz:
(i) marketing and promotion in support of organic farming;
(ii) grading, packing, storage and distribution of organic produce.
My Department has responsibility for the allocation of funding under this scheme, which was launched in July 1995. To date, 20 applications for grant aid have been received, the bulk of them since November last. So far, one grant approval for £21,000, of which £5,250 has been paid, has been issued in respect of a marketing and promotion project. Processing of the other applications on hand will be completed in the near future.
I am satisfied that the funding available under the scheme will provide the organic farming sector with a significant boost in the areas of greatest needs viz. marketing, promotion and distribution of organic produce.
