Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 22 June 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed)

Dr. Oliver Moore:

Labour is obviously the key consideration for organic farming. There are a couple of elements around rural regeneration. Up to 20% of the working week of a civil servant can soon be done from home or from the local village according to the new rural policy. There are many interesting things happening with rural regeneration. When the basic payment is so low in organic horticulture to begin with, it makes it difficult for Irish organic horticulture to compete with horticulture coming from the rest of Europe. It is already tough because the yield can be higher in warmer parts of Europe than it is here. However, the payment rate is so low that a higher payment rate would optimise the production. A range of public goods is provided by organic farming. I listed five or six core and four or five supplementary public goods. When that level of public goods is being delivered, the payment rates should at least be doubled. Those rates should be €500 for grassland, €600 for tillage and €700 for horticulture. Perhaps it should be even more to fast-track incentivising fruiting bushes and trees. Extra supports are given for those things in countries where they are successful. We have a real opportunity to import substitutes in fruiting bushes, trees and apples. Highbank Orchards in Kilkenny is an example. Con Traas in south Tipperary is not organic but he is a careful and specific farmer with an amazing orchard and a very low use of industry and inputs.

We could be an amazing producer of organic fruits as well as organic vegetables but we need to be incentivised properly at the start because we are delivering a certain level of public good. There is income forgone and costs incurred, which is why the payment is made, but public goods are being delivered in the first place.

I agree completely about being cautious. It is only a context of every single section of the food system that is organic-relevant being promoted and developed at one and the same time that will leave farmers willing to make the jump. If 1,000 people joined the organic farming scheme next year, the price would collapse and we do not want that. We want a third level qualification in organics available in Ireland and enough experts in reseeding to help farmers reseed fields. We want all the elements I mentioned earlier, such as production, extension, processing, distribution, research and development and marketing, being developed at one and the same time, and the farming community must know this is happening. If just one element is to be developed, it is basically too risky.

I was glad to see the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, announce a grant for organic processing recently. Processing is where we see the adding of value. People have an association with organic being local and regional aspects, to an extent, and this might limit the export potential of Irish organics. Perhaps there is a point with that. However, processed food travels further and people are more used to seeing processed food abroad. For example, we do not want to see French milk on an Irish supermarket shelf but we are fine seeing French cheese. In the same way, we can send Irish cheese abroad but Irish milk is more awkward. We need to increase the ability for organic food to be processed locally, regionally and for export.

There must be a full spectrum of development to give farmers confidence. We do not want lots of extra work and transitioning for no market. We must spend more than €1 million per year on the marketing of organic food at home and abroad, that is for sure.

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