2030 Strategy will reflect recent growth, focus on market development, current challenges and future potential
Today, I was delighted to announce the development of a new five-year National Strategy for the organic food and drink sector in Ireland. The current National Organic Strategy was developed in 2019 and runs to 2025 and the new Strategy will plan the development for the sector to 2030.
This Government has already demonstrated that we’ve the highest level of ambition for the Irish organic sector. We’ve put in place the biggest supports for organic farming in Ireland with a five-fold increase in the organic farming scheme budget. This has already led to a rapid expansion of the Irish organic sector with a doubling of organic farmers in the last 12 months. This growth will continue as we open the scheme again to new entrants. Last week I also announced a new €1.7m grant scheme for the organic processing sector.
We have seen great progress as a result of the actions outlined in the current strategy to 2025 and the work of the Organic Strategy Forum. It’s important now that we maintain momentum and coordinate all links in the supply chain from farmer to retailer into a new National Strategy to further drive the development of the sector.
For this reason, I have tasked the Organic Forum, under its Chair Mr. Padraig Brennan with developing this new Strategy and presenting it to Government in Q1 2024. The Forum is an excellent cross-representation of the sector including farm organisations, retailers, processors and relevant State Agencies including Bord Bia and Teagasc and all have their part to play in developing the new Strategy.
Padraig Brennan, Chairperson of the Organic forum added :
“With significant growth anticipated in Irish organic supplies it is timely to review the organic sector strategy to ensure the right supports are in place to optimise the value of the Irish organic food sector in the period to 2030. I look forward to working with Minister Hackett and the Organic Strategy Forum over the coming months to develop an ambitious strategy to deliver a highly co-ordinated organic supply chain that can supply growing market demand both in Ireland and key export markets.”
I want to thank the members of the Strategy Forum that continue to work to strengthen the position of Organics in the marketplace and who will take ownership of this important task. There will be an opportunity for public consultation during the development of the strategy and I look forward to the input of all our stakeholders. It is critical that the new 5-year National Strategy capitalises on the gains of the previous years and ensures organics continues to be a viable option for Irish farmers.
The current Strategy for the development of the Organic sector 2019 to 2025 can be viewed on the Departments website at gov.ie
The Department’s Statement of Strategy (2021 – 2024) and Action Plan 2021 can be viewed on the Department’s website at statement-of-strategy-2021-2024