The current Government target of 7.5% of agricultural land under organic production is illustrative of its woeful lack of ambition, Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture Matt Carthy has said.

The Cavan-Monaghan TD suggested that Irish farmers should be well placed to leverage the goals of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy, to target at least 25% of agricultural land under organic production by 2030.

“Unfortunately, Ireland currently languishes towards the bottom of the table with under 2% under organic production, potentially damaging the reputation of Irish food production,” Carthy said.

Poor projections

Carthy went on to take aim at the number of organic farms partaking in the Teagasc signpost project.

“Only 5% of the new Signpost Farms are organic, an indication of surrender that we may not even reach the pathetic 7.5% target, let alone 25% in the few years ahead.

“Minister of State Pippa Hackett lauded an investment at the beginning of this year with a target of up to 500 entrants, while the departments own figures and number of applicants to the scheme reveal that we will be lucky to see half that number of new spaces taken up,” he said.

“The lack of ambition and vision within the Department of Agriculture is disappointing. This unambitious approach penetrates into those statutory agencies that could, and should, be playing a positive role in the development of organics such as Bord Bia and Teagasc.”