Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 April 2021
171. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of participants and the funding allocated to the organic farming scheme in 2020; the amount allocated for 2021; the intended number of participants in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22533/21]
View answer.
|
|
Number of participants |
Funding allocated per year |
|
2020 |
1,530 |
€11.97m |
|
2021 |
1,456 |
€10.975m |
|
2021 OFS |
Application period still open |
€4m |
There were 1,530 participants in the Organic Farming Scheme in 2020 and a budget of €11.97m was allocated towards payments to farmers in the Scheme for that year.
The Organic Farming Scheme contracts of 1,467 participants were due to end on 31st December 2020. All of these farmers were offered an extension of their contract until 31st December 2021. Some 1,396 of these farmers accepted the offer of an extension. A budget of €10.975m has been allocated for payments in 2021 in respect of these participants and the participants who have a contract until 31 December 2023.
The Organic Farming Scheme 2021 opened on 1st March and will close Friday 30 April so at this stage it is not possible to state the actual numbers applying for the scheme. I believe that the additional funding of €4 million provided for this new Scheme will facilitate the entry of 400-500 new farmers into the organic farming system.
