Organic News
IOFGA Delegation Meets Minister
A delegation from IOFGA met with Minister of State, Mr. Shane McEntee, on Thursday 29th of September at Agriculture House. The meeting was extensive and covered a number of important issues. The main focus was on how best to work together to develop organic farming in Ireland to meet the demand for Irish organic food both at home and abroad.
IOFGA welcomed the opportunity to discuss organic policy with Minister McEntee, his advisor Liam Cahill and representatives from the DAFF Organic Unit.
The main points highlighted were:
- The Organic Farming Scheme and its current payment levels are retained in Ireland to encourage entrants into the organic sector. The opening of the Organic Farming Scheme should be announced as soon as possible to facilitate people who are waiting to join the scheme
- The Capital Grants Scheme should also be retained at its current budget to allow organic operators to expand and develop their enterprise to meet market demands
- The subvention agreement is reviewed and maintained at its current level. The agreement is renewed for a 5 year term as was previously the case
- A specialist organic horticultural advisor is appointed to advise organic growers. This expertise is not currently available and is a huge loss to the development of the sector. We look forward to many more meetings with the Minister to develop and promote organic food and farming in Ireland.
Gillian Westbrook has been appointed to the new position of
General Manager with IOFGA. Coming from a background in the regulatory area...
