IOA welcomes government support for the organic sector

The news that both the Organic Farming Scheme and the Organic Grant Aid scheme will remain in place for 2011 is welcomed by IOFGA. The maintenance of these schemes reinforces the government’s commitment to a growing agricultural sector and gives further weight to the importance of the development of the sector in Irish agriculture.

“The number of organic producers continues to increase steadily here in Ireland however it is still not on par with the volume of organic food consumed here. Sales of organic food continue to grow even in these difficult times. To date in the last quarter of 2010 sales are up considerably on the same period last year” said Grace Maher, Development Officer with IOFGA.

IOA said that consumers are still seeking out organic food in large numbers however people are also demanding that organic food is produced locally. In light of this it is essential that the government continues to support the development of the organic sector so that more organic food consumed in Ireland is produced in Ireland. We need to reduce our dependence on imported organic food. There is a strong market for Irish organic food both here in Ireland and abroad, farmers need to take up the challenge to produce for this growing market.

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For more Information contact

Grace Maher

Development Officer IOFGA

Tel 087 6125989