Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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21. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he intends to devise a scheme for capital expenditure including for machinery purchase that would assist the organic sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34707/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Department currently offers two schemes which provide funding to farmers and processors for capital expenditure and the purchase of machinery. These are the Organic Capital Investment Scheme and the Organic Processing Investment Grant.

I am fully committed to the implementation of the National Organic Strategy 2019-2025 which sets out ambitious growth targets for the sector by aligning it closely with the market opportunities. The current Programme for Government is committed to aligning Ireland’s organic land area with that of the EU average of 7.5%. These schemes play a vital role in development and futureproofing of the organic sector and in turn help to achieve these targets.

The Organic Capital Investment Scheme provides grant aid to farmers for on-farm investments such as upgrades to agricultural buildings, machinery and to facilitate the adoption and application of new technologies. The Scheme also aims to provide an incentive to eligible young farmers to upgrade their agricultural buildings and equipment by providing them with an increased level of support Over €3.3m in payments have issued to farmers under this scheme to date.

The Organic Processing Investment Grant Scheme provides funding to processors who wish to invest in developing facilities for the processing, preparation, grading, packing and storage of organic products. It is a demand led scheme and all eligible applications received are assessed based on the terms and conditions of the scheme. A budget of €1.2 million has been allocated to this Scheme for 2022 with a maximum payment of €700,000 available on eligible expenditure.

In two weeks time, Minister of State Pippa Hackett will lead trade mission to Germany this month to coincide with Biofach, the largest organic trade fair in Europe to help promote organic Irish food and drink in the German market. It is through initiatives like these that we will continue to develop the sector at production and processing level.