Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2015
318. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures his Department is taking to improve the health of soil, and to promote organic farming, as recommended by the Rodale Institute; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24751/15]
View answerAll farmers receiving EU payments must comply with certain environmental standards. One of these requirements is to keep land in Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC).
GAEC places requirements on farmers to protect soils from erosion and maintain soil structure. This ensures problems that may arise from compaction or rutting of land by machinery or erosion through overgrazing are minimised. Between 2009 and 2014 farmers were required to test land which was considered to be at risk of having low organic matter (OM) levels. Soil organic matter plays a major role in maintaining soil quality as it positively influences a wide range of soil properties such as the provision of nutrients, water retention and release, as well as reducing the risks of soil compaction, surface crusting and soil erosion. This testing found Irish soils to be in a very positive state with high levels of OM content compared to other countries.
The protection of soils has also been strengthened in Ireland's Rural Development Programme (RDP) through support provided in agri environmental schemes AEOS (Agri Environmental Options Scheme) and GLAS (Green Low Carbon Agri Environmental Scheme) for farmers to plant catch crops.
Commonages make up approximately 422,000 hectares of the land area in Ireland and their soils are vulnerable to overuse. Farmers who work these lands are paid via agri environmental schemes to manage these areas in an environmentally friendly manner in order to contribute to the long term health of the soil.
Where fertiliser is applied, the Nitrates regulations (SI 31 2014) require that it is in accordance with crop requirements. Certain measures within the regulations encourage soil sampling which is the cornerstone of nutrient management planning and contributes to a healthy balanced soil. These measures include increased allowances where soils are found to be deficient in phosphorus with the target of achieving optimum sustainable output from all soils.
The new Organic Farming Scheme which was launched on 21 April, 2015 provides increased payments to Organic Farmers and aims to encourage producers to respond to the market demand for organically produced food. Organic Farmers are also given priority access to the new Green Low-Carbon Agricultural Scheme (GLAS) which was launched in March 2015.
Development grants will be available to processors under the Off-Farm Scheme of Grant Aid for the Development of the Organic Sector. This Off-farm Scheme, which is 100% exchequer funded, will provide grant aid for new equipment and facilities for production, preparation, grading, packing, storage, distribution and sale of organic products. I hope to open this Scheme for applications shortly.
Furthermore I hope to launch a new Organic Capital Investment Scheme in the near future. This investment scheme will be co-funded by the EU and the exchequer. The objective of the Scheme is to facilitate the development of the organic sector so as to ensure a regular supply of high quality organic produce to the market. It will also aim to provide an incentive to young organic farmers to upgrade their agriculture buildings and equipment by providing them with an increased level of support to meet the considerable capital costs associated with the establishment of their enterprises.
