Vol. 412 No. 6
27 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if grants are available for organic farming; if so, the crops for which they are available; and if he will outline the level of uptake of these grants in each of the last five years.
This year I initiated a pilot scheme of grant aid for investments in organic farming enterprises. The object was to provide aid towards the cost of facilities for the commercial production, storage and marketing of organic produce.
There were 75 applicants of whom 37 were offered grant assistance. Of these, 32 are in vegetable-horticulture production and five in mixed farming. Investments will be mainly in equipment but some construction work is also being undertaken. As work on these projects is still ongoing, the level of uptake of the funds available — £150,000 — will not become clear until next month.
