Written answers
Thursday, 13 June 2019
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Organic Farming Scheme Data
Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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172. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the financial allocations on an annual basis under the 2014-2020 RDP to the organic farming scheme; the annual amount expended on the programme in each year since it was established; the number of approved applicants in the scheme who received payments in each year; and the number who have not received payments in each year since being established by advance and balancing payments in tabular form. [24804/19]
Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The Organic Farming Scheme under the current RDP 2014-2020 was launched in 2015. The figures in the table below set out the financial allocation each year together with the amount expended in those years. The figures regarding payees and the number awaiting payment refer to the scheme year in question. The scheme is on track to spend its entire allocation.
| Year | Financial Allocation (€) | Amount expended in each year (€) | Payees (per Scheme year) | Number awaiting advance | Number awaiting balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 12,000,000 | 8,030,000 | 1,580 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 10,000,000 | 8,039,561 | 1,642 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | 10,500,000 | 8,822,131 | 1,568 | 6 | 8 |
| 2018 | 10,500,000 | 10,519,034 | 1,441 | 32 | 136 |
| 2019 | 11,000,000 | 2,176,660 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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173. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the targets committed to, that is, number of hectares of new land into production and number of hectares of converted land, under the organic farming scheme for the 2014-2020 RDP window; and the progress to date on these targets. [24805/19]
Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The Organic Farming sector has seen unprecedented expansion over the last few years. This expansion has been driven by the Organic Farming Scheme which was introduced under Ireland's RDP 2014-2020.
The targets committed to under the Organic Farming Scheme were to attract 16,000 hectares of new land into production and to support 46,000 hectares of converted land. These targets have both been achieved and, in fact, have been exceeded. 26,000 hectares of new land have been converted to organic farming during the current RDP, increasing the land area under organic production to almost 72,000 hectares.
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