Written answers

Tuesday, 12 February 2019

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Organic Farming

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Photo of Jackie CahillJackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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523. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the national and sectoral targets under the new strategy for the development of the organic food sector here in tabular form. [6289/19]

Photo of Michael CreedMichael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The new Organic Strategy which was launched last week by my colleague, Minister Doyle, is a strategy for the development of the Organic Food Sector for the period up to 2025. This period coincides with the Food Wise 2025 Strategy which is the over- arching strategy for the Irish food and drink sector and allies it to the stated aims contained therein, to drive added value for Irish agricultural produce. The Strategic Objective of the new Organic Strategy is to create a consumer led viable Organic Food Sector in Ireland, enhancing the sustainability credentials of Irish Food, which will produce a wide range of organic products to meet increasing domestic and export market opportunities.

The targets per subsector are outlined hereunder as requested:

Sub SectorTarget
Cereals & PulsesTo increase the area under organic cereals and pulses from 2,426 hectares in 2017 to 5,000 hectares
DairyTo increase organic milk production annually by 10% over the lifetime of the plan with more significant increases possible thereafter.
HorticultureTo encourage import substitution where possible and increase the area under organic horticulture from 524 hectares in 2017 to 750 hectares.
Beef To increase organic cattle production from 0.8% of total cattle in 2016 to 1.6%
SheepTo maximise organic sales to match current levels and pattern of supply, through a marketing campaign focussed on peak supply periods.
AquacultureTo increase the quantity of salmon produced to organic standards from 20,000 tonnes to 26,000 tonnes.
Poultry/EggsTo increase the area under organic cereals and pulses will impact positively on the potential for increased organic poultry.
The targets set for the individual sub-sectors recognise the importance of promoting organic food production not alone having regard to market demand but also the imperative of climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection requirements.However, the targets recognise the current very low production levels and are set at a level to build a platform for further increases. In this context the Organic Sector Strategy group recommended that the targets should be subject to review after five years.

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