Horticulture crisis fund payments have begun issuing to eligible applicants, the Department of Agriculture has announced.

The €2.38m fund supports a one-off payment to horticultural growers most affected by the continued high level of input costs.

Making the announcement, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue welcomed the commencement of payments.

“Increased input costs, coupled with unfavourable weather conditions for those with field crops, have resulted in the Irish horticulture sector facing significant challenges over the past year.

“This fund will help to support this vitally important sector during this challenging period, thereby securing its future,” he said.

Minister of State with special responsibility for horticulture Pippa Hackett said 2023 was a difficult year for the horticulture sector.

“It is vital that we acknowledge this and recognise the vital role they [growers] play in providing nutritious food for consumers across Ireland.

“The horticulture crisis fund targets supports at those growers who encountered the highest losses and was designed to ensure the short-term security and ultimately the long-term viability of their businesses,” she said.

Subsectors

The horticulture subsectors supported under the scheme include commercial growers in glasshouse high-wire crops, brown mushrooms, heated strawberries, field vegetables (excluding potatoes), field salad crops, apples and vertical farmed greens.

Payments to growers in the high-wire crops, heated strawberries, field vegetables, field salad crops, vertically grown greens and apple sectors will be made on an area basis (per ha) for crops grown in 2023.

For brown mushrooms, payments will be calculated on the level of brown mushrooms sold and will be based on the quantity (weight in kg) of mushrooms sold over the period from 1 January 2023 to 30 September 2023.

Payments will be capped at €100,000 per beneficial owner.

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Horticulture Crisis Fund opens for applications