Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On organics, surely it is not good enough to have just one buyer of organic beef. The INHFA has said that we need much greater competition in that sector. There needs to be a realistic assessment of what milk or beef price is required from organic production and to get returns equivalent to conventional farming. If we follow on from this, it seems to me that it would be an actual course of action if we made a distinction between the two and gave an incentive to farmers to enter into that area.

I note the issue regarding the use of organic produce in conventional retail. Does this aspect prevent farmers from entering organics? Does it seem ill prepared, given that we should have a marketing strategy built around this, as well as the supports that are in place?