Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 June 2022
1957. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers that applied for organic farming scheme in 2022 by farm enterprise type; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29099/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra1958. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of the applicants of the new organic farming scheme in 2022 that are commonage farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29100/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1957 and 1958 together.
I am committed to achieving our target of 7.5% of land cover under organic production as outlined in the current Programme for Government. To assist in achieving this target, I have secured a budget allocation of €21 million for the Organic Farming Scheme for 2022, an increase of €5 million from the previous year.
The Organic Farming Scheme opened for new applications on 9th February 2022 and closed on 22nd April 2022. During this period, 380 applications were received. The table below gives the percentage of farmers that applied for the Organic Farming Scheme in 2022 by enterprise type:
|
Enterprise |
% of Participants |
|
Cattle |
40% |
|
Dairy |
2.5% |
|
Mixed Livestock |
7.5% |
|
Sheep |
32% |
|
Tillage |
4% |
|
Horticulture |
6% |
|
Other |
8%* |
*Comprised of smaller enterprises with goats and horses on the holdings
The eligibility of these applications will be assessed once the Basic Payment Scheme applications are verified, which will determine approval into the Organic Farming Scheme.
