Matt Carthy
Question:3. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to address the low number of applications to the organic farm scheme. [26907/21]
View answerThursday, 20 May 2021
Questions (3)
Oral answers (7 contributions)
The low number of applications to the organic farm scheme has re-emphasised just how poor our organic strategy is. What does the Minister of State intend to do about that?
I thank the Deputy for his question. Driving the development of the Irish organic sector is a major priority for me and my Department. We have set the highest level of ambition ever for the sector in the programme for Government with an aim to reach the EU average of land farmed organically during the lifetime of this Government. We are also committed to the full implementation of the current Review of Organic Food Sector and Strategy for its Development 2019-2025. A key element in reaching this ambitious target is increasing the number of farmers farming organically. To achieve this, I secured additional funding for this year to reopen the organic farming scheme. I was delighted that 317 farmers have applied to convert to organic farming and perhaps, unlike the Deputy, I considered this quite a strong response given the many alternative scheme options that were available to farmers during this Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, transitional period. If all these applicants are eligible and proceed to convert to organic farming, it will mean an increase of more than 20% in the number of farmers farming this way. Of course, we are still waiting to find out what area of land these applications represent and we should know that shortly as the basic payment scheme, BPS, application window has just closed.
I am satisfied that the current budget allocated to the scheme this year will allow eligible applications successful entry into the scheme. It is my intention to build on the interest shown to date and to drive further growth in organic farming. I will be actively examining a further reopening of the scheme for next year subject to funding. My Department is currently devising a new and ambitious organic farming scheme to be introduced under the new CAP in 2023 which will aim to increase the synergies that exist between organics, agri-environment climate measures and the eco-schemes and thus make organic farming a more attractive farming option.
Ultimately the development of the sector will be driven not just by our scheme but by a range of factors. We need to work closely with Bord Bia and indeed Teagasc to deliver on those. I will certainly be trying to leverage as much support as possible from both Bord Bia and Teagasc in this regard. We need to keep the ambition high for organic farming, it is a very significant growth area and I look forward to seeing it grow.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
In association with Teagasc, the Department runs the organic farming demonstration programme. Under this programme, a nationwide series of national organic farming open days takes place on selected organic demonstration farms. This provides farmers with an insight into organic farming and is an invaluable tool in showcasing organic farming at a practical level. This programme, by the sharing of knowledge at a local level, will hugely contribute to the conversion to organic farming.
As well as all this however we may need to think even more broadly. Many of our European counterparts use public procurement strategies to support their organic producers. I want to look at whether or not we might do something similar here. In this regard, the programme for government does include commitments to green public procurement, and I believe there is room to see how organic food production might fit with that.
In summary, nobody has shown the level of ambition for the Irish organic sector as this Government. We have hit the ground running by securing extra funding for the reopening of the scheme but this is just the beginning.
There is no ambition in the Minister of State's strategy. It is interesting the Minister of State states that her target is to reach the EU average but she did not actually say what that percentage was because the Department's percentage is 7.5%. That was the EU average in 2018 and that average has already increased. By the time we reach the Minister of State's targets, if we do, we will have reached a target that is seven years out of date.
Some 74 people left the scheme last year. That means that if all 317 applications are accepted, the increase in organic farmer numbers will be 243, which is less than half of what the Minister of State set out as the target of up to 500 additional schemes. This is the difficulty and let us be honest about it.
Of course, it is easy to get a 20% increase when one is starting from almost the lowest rate in Europe. Farmers across the country have said they are interested in organics. If we are serious about climate action, then we have to get interested in expanding the organic farming sector. What is the Minister of State going to do to get real about this particular form of farming which has so much potential if dealt with properly?
We are going to stick to times because there is a list. It is one minute for the question and one minute for the Minister of State. I know it is difficult.
The EU average of 7.5% was the agreed figure we worked off for the programme for Government. That is a significantly ambitious target. I appreciate it is not near the EU's target of 25%. However, the EU currently has an average land area of between 8% and 8.5% given over to organics. Even across the EU, to get from 8.5% to 25% by 2030 is also hugely ambitious. We will work closely with our partners across Europe because if they have to do it, we have to do it. We have to share that knowledge and implement it.
The schemes themselves are not the only route or mechanism for organic farming. These farmers, in all likelihood, will all be accepted into the scheme. There are farmers who operate as organic farmers outside of the scheme, however. It is just one part of the puzzle.
That is another problem. Why are they operating outside of the scheme? What are the flaws in the scheme and what has the Minister of State done to assess this?
The 8.5% figure is the 2019 figure which was a full percentage increase across the European Union level from the year before. We do not have any more updated figures. The rest of Europe is moving ahead of us. We have a strong reputation internationally for a green and environmentally friendly agriculture product. That reputation is going to be important if we are going to be able to maintain the level of support that Ireland has internationally for its agriculture product. We need to get serious about this.
I am disappointed. There are two areas under the Minister of State's control in which she can make a significant difference to Irish farmers in terms of income, as well as delivering for the environment; namely, organics and forestry. In both areas, she is failing miserably to make an impact. She is reading statements prepared by officials which have failed time and time again.
The scheme is not the only mechanism. Many operators can operate without the scheme. They may not need the financial assistance but they are still organic farming and are assessed by the organic certification bodies. The incentive is there to encourage people into it. Some people find they can operate perfectly and profitably without the assistance of the offer of the moneys through the scheme.
I assure the Deputy that my ambitions for organics and forestry are genuine. I will be working hard to ensure they deliver, along with the horticulture sector and any other aspect under my remit, for the environment. That is why I am a politician and want to do this. That is why my party was happy to enter government.