Dublin, Ireland
December 2, 2008
Organic farming is expanding in
Ireland. The area of land being farmed organically increased by
10% in 2008 and now stands at 44,600 hectares. The
Teagasc National Organic
Production Research Conference, taking place in Tullamore,
today, Tuesday, 2 December, heard how there are now 1,230
producers farming organically in Ireland, a four fold increase
over the last ten years. The organic market has grown by 82% in
the last two years and is valued at €100 million annually.
The conference was officially opened by Trevor Sargent T.D.,
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries
and Food, who encouraged farmers to contact their Teagasc
adviser to examine the opportunities in organic farming. He
predicted that it would be an eye opener for many conventional
farmers, as costs can be reduced, profits can be increased, and
there is the potential of a growing market for organic foods.
Despite the expansion in the area farmed organically in Ireland,
it represents around 1% of the land area of the country. This is
lower than the EU average, where across 25 member states, 3.6%
of the land area is farmed organically. Currently within the EU,
5.7 million hectares is either farmed organically or in
conversion.
In Ireland, organic production is located mainly in the West and
the South West, with counties Clare and Cork accounting for
around 30 per cent of producers. The majority of Irish organic
farms are involved in cattle and sheep farming with dairy
farming being one of the least represented farming systems. The
average size of organic farm is 36 hectares and compares
favourably in terms of scale to that of conventional farms at 37
hectares.
Financial analysis by the Teagasc Rural Economy Research Centre,
presented at the conference showed that organic producers can
generate incomes comparable and exceeding those in conventional
production systems. Figures on the financial performance on
cattle rearing farms showed that family farm income on organic
cattle rearing farms is 56% higher than on conventional farms.
This was due entirely to lower costs of production. Output and
direct payments on the conventional cattle farms were higher,
but not sufficiently to cover the additional costs. From limited
data, analysis showed that organic dairy farming can generate a
farm income comparable to conventional dairy farming.
Market research presented at the conference showed that consumer
awareness and understanding of organic is very high and there is
a strong core group of organic consumers. The Irish organic
market is small but rapidly growing. However some of the
challenges in marketing organic produce were highlighted, as
more than half of consumers believe that it is expensive and
price is the main reason given for not purchasing organic foods. |
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