Today, 18th September 2024, together with my colleague Minister Charlie McConalogue, we launched the National Organic Strategy 2024 - 2030.
This is a significant milestone in the continued development of the sector. I would like to thank the members of the Organic Strategy Forum and its Chair Padraig Brennan for all of their work on the Strategy, and indeed for everything they’ve done over the past number of years to grow and promote the sector.
Since 2021 we have seen unprecedented growth in organic farming in Ireland, and our aim now is to reach 10% of land being farmed organically by 2030. We have an ambitious aim in this Strategy to treble the wholesale value of organic output to €750 million by 2030, which will ultimately benefit the thousands of Irish farmers who have converted to organics in recent years.
Organic farming is embedded in government policy, through Food Vision 2030, the CAP Strategic Plan, the Climate Action Plan, the new Green Public Procurement Strategy and the increased investment by Bord Bia and Teagasc in supporting organic food production. A key element of our ambition is to increase organic processing capacity, and this year we doubled the support available and increased the grant rate significantly in response to the growing demand for Irish organic produce.
Organic farming delivers for climate, water quality, biodiversity and soil; we have made huge strides over the first half of this decade and this Strategy sets out the roadmap to do even more between now and 2030.
You can access the Departmental Press Release and the National Organic Strategy here
