Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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1718. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the incentives in place to encourage development of the organic beef and dairy sectors in order to allow for better quality agricultural production and higher farm incomes, while also enabling Ireland to reduce emissions from the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20021/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The Irish organic sector spans primary agriculture, food and drink processing, and aquaculture. It is seen as a key diversification option in FoodVision 2030. Land farmed organically has increased from 1.6% of land area in 2020 to approximately 5.5% today. This growth is on target to reach 10% by 2030, as outlined in our Climate Action Plan

In 2024, a new, six-year strategy for organic production was launched. This contains ambitious growth targets for the sector and an overall ambition of increasing the wholesale value of organic output from €200 million in 2024 to €750 million by 2030. The achievement of this target is being monitored and driven by the Organic Strategy Forum, which is made up of stakeholders from across the sector. It is projected that organic milk output could double by 2030 and organic beef output could exceed 12,000 tonnes by 2030, more than trebling the 2022 production figure.

Government's focus on organics has seen a five-fold increase in our CAP Strategic Plan budget to €256 million, with increased payment rates of approximately 50% for beef farmers. There has also been a huge increase in advisory support, organic farm walks, information sessions, education and training, research projects, promotion and short supply chain business development over the past number of years.

Organic farmers can avail of a 60% grant in TAMS to make capital investments in their farms. There is also a significant budget of €3.5 million this year to support the Organic Processors Investment Grant to ensure that there is sufficient processing capacity for increased organic production.

Bord Bia is using EU co-funding for a 3-year promotional programme for pasture-fed organic beef and lamb across four key export markets, namely, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Sweden. This will see a €2.7 million campaign delivered over the 2024 to 2026 period to support growth in these well-established markets.

Organic farming plays an important role in reducing nitrous oxide through the reduced use of chemical nitrogen, while lower average stocking rates contribute positively to reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions.

Organic shellfish aquaculture can contribute towards carbon capture, while both organic finfish and shellfish are relatively low-carbon forms of protein.

Organic farming continues to form a cornerstone of Ireland's efforts to preserve our climate and environment through its positive impact on water quality, air quality, biodiversity and soil health.