Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would like to start on the accreditation system and the fact that there are five different accreditation bodies. I raised on a couple of occasions at this committee that we have a Bord Bia quality assurance scheme under which farms are inspected at 18-month intervals. Why could organic accreditation not be incorporated into that scheme? The vast majority of cattle producers are in the quality assurance scheme. Farmers, by their nature, do not like inspections. At the moment, one could have a dairy and beef inspection done on a farm on a single day for quality assurance. There could be a third part of the form that people could tick to state they wished to be accredited for organic farming. For me, it would be a cost-saving measure because it would all come under the one body. Bord Bia needs to become more involved in the organic sector. This would be a step forward in that direction. I find it hard enough to comprehend how having five bodies carrying out accreditation does not cost the industry.

I ask the witnesses to elaborate on what market premia their organisations believe are needed to compensate for the extra cost of organic farming. We have talked about payments and supports. While they are important to get the organic industry off the ground, do the witnesses feel that the market is capable of returning a premium that will justify the extra cost of organic production? In the different sectors, what percentage of the market do they believe that organic farming could corner, whether in Ireland, the UK or Europe? Perhaps corner is the wrong word.

In parallel to organic farming, we have had schemes for Angus beef and Hereford beef. Farmers were incentivised to breed these cattle. They were getting a premium that varied at different times of the year for producing this beef, which we were told the market wanted and was the way it wanted to go. Now, with sufficient numbers in the system, the premium has been cut very significantly. While I know that is not organic beef, it is still what the processors were telling us the market was demanding. Do the witnesses think that we can get to a stage at which market premia will cover the extra cost of organic farming and make it economical? Do they have figures of what premium is needed and is that achievable from the marketplace?