Irish horticulture minister Trevor Sargent delivered mixed news to the Republic’s growers last week - a new board to promote organic produce, but the suspension of capital investment grants that encourage the switch from conventional farming.
The new board, Foras Organach, which replaces a national steering group, has been established “to drive forward the development of the organic sector in Ireland”, according to the minister. It will be chaired by Noel Groome, managing director of Groomes, a major fresh produce business in north County Dublin, described by the minister as “an outstandingly successful entrepreneur in the area of conventional produce, who has the vision to see the potential in the organic sector”.
The new chairman, he said, “has been active in seeking to increase production of organic fruit and vegetables, an area in which he sees major scope for expansion, given that the bulk of such produce bought by Irish consumers is imported”.
The membership of the board, “to be made up of individuals with expertise in particular areas”, is to be announced later.
One of the aims of the new board will be to meet the policy target set by the minister to have five per cent of Irish farmland under organic production by 2012. Some progress has been made, with the value of the organic retail market increasing from €104 million (£89m) in 2008 to an estimated €120m this year. Organic food sales also rose by 11 per cent last year, despite the recession, compared with 2.7 per cent in the non-organic sector.
But Sargent’s policy ambitions will not be helped by his other announcement last week - the immediate suspension of capital grants for farmers planning to go organic. The minister, a former leader of the Green Party, junior partner in the current coalition government, blamed the strain on the national finances for the funds cut-off and promised to restore the grants as soon as the budgetary situation improves. Ironically, just days earlier, he had been “expressing delight” at the numbers interested in making the switch.
According to Grace Maher, development officer with the Irish Farmers’ and Growers’ Association, the grants ranged from €1,000 to a maximum of €60,000 and were particularly useful in helping to meet the cost of equipment and machinery for those switching to organic horticulture.
“There are very few vegetable producers who would not have polytunnels, regardless of the scale of their operation, and they need access to funding for this investment,” she said. “Many of our current operators might not be where they are if they had not had that assistance.”
More than 100 farmers waiting approval to convert to organic have been left isolated by the grants suspension, and Maher said it would inevitably slow down the numbers transferring. She expressed disappointment at the funding decision and said she believed the minister shared her disappointment.
