Organic Farming Scheme Open for Applicants
IFA Organic Project Team Chair John Fitzpatrick has welcomed the opening of the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) with the tillage sector set to receive priority access.
“The Government has an ambitious target to increase organic wholesale food value from €200m today to €750m by 2030, while reducing organic horticultural imports to below 50% in the same timeframe. IFA is calling for additional payments to be made on the first 3ha of organic horticulture land to achieve this goal,” John Fitzpatrick outlined.
“There is scope for the organic sector to expand significantly to reach the 10% Climate Action Plan target for land area to be farmed organically by 2030. In doing so, increased investment needs to be made toward developing suitable markets and outlets for the projected increase in organic produce coming onto the market in the coming years,” he said.
“€58.6m has been allocated for the OFS Budget 2026, a 12.5% cut from Budget 2025. This is a damaging cut during a period where Organic Farming is said to be expanding,” John Fitzpatrick stated.
“Until the Department gets fully behind the OFS by increasing the Organic Payment; reviews the Irish Government’s Green Public Procurement Strategy mandates to include 10% of food purchased by public sector bodies from certified Irish organic; and invests in organic food advertising promotions; the sector will never reach its maximum potential.”
The OFS will remain open for applications until Friday, 12th December. A guide to the Organic Farming Scheme application process is available on the Department’s website: Organic Farming Scheme.
