More about the Organic Action Plan

I found a link to the full text of the 60 point Organic Action Plan for Ireland, thanks to Conor Little from Trevor Sargent's office.

It's an impressive plan and an easy read. The target however still seems high, it is hoping to achieve an over 500% increase in Utilisable Agricultural Area (UAA) devoted to organic farming in the space of just 4 years. The reason for such a short timeline is due in part to the developing market. The plan outlines the key markets for organic product, which aside from fulfilling our own needs, relies heavily on export markets and particularly the UK. The worry is that if we don't fulfill these markets quickly someone else will. 

Because of a current gap in the market, and in part due to the large amount of land that can be converted in a relatively short amount of time, Organic Beef has been singled out as one of the biggest growth markets here. Although this does fill a niche I would agree with Ollie's comment on my previous post that it is disappointing that a larger focus is not being placed on horticulture.

The good news is that even with the slow down in the economy in the UK, the Soil Association still expect a 10% growth in the organic market this year, meaning that there should be no shortage of demand for our product in the overseas market.

If we are to increase our production so dramatically we will also need to make sure we market it properly. The Organic Action Plan allows provision for a new marketing strategy. The current strategy will not suffice as it was only designed for 1% UAA. The marketing both at home and abroad is going to be crucial to attaining our target. The plan acknowledges that 'there still seems to be an image problem with organic farming among the framing sector' and suggests ways in which this can be overcome. 

If I haven't bored you to death on this subject yet and you would like to read more keep an eye on The Examiner,  Oliver Moore is going to be writing about it over the next few weeks. 

Read the plan in full

Trev's Organic Action Plan

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while will be aware of my occasional rants about the availability of Irish organic produce. Although, as I have discussed before, it is not always more eco-friendly to buy local produce, especially when it is out of season, it does seem a little crazy to me that in a blossoming market we are still importing approximately 70% of our organic produce. It would be great to know that manufacturers of certified organic prepared foods would be able to source a sufficient quantity and quality of raw ingredients in this country to satisfy their production needs.

The answer of course is to convert more land to organic agriculture. It seems that the Green Party are staying true to their election promise to work towards a greater proportion of organic land with Trevor Sargent last week announcing his Organic Action Plan for Ireland.

The Green Party's website makes reference to '60 actions' included in the plan which strives to achieve 5% of  land area devoted to organic agriculture by 2010.

There are incentives to Farmers who choose to go organic including annual payments during both the conversion period and through REPS (Rural Environmental Protection Scheme) when fully certified.

5% does seem to be a huge target to reach but it is encouraging to see that the Greens are aiming their sights high. At the very least it has already sparked debate on the organic issue. It is sad however to note that the organic sector seems to be getting a hard time from the Irish press at the moment with very few column inches devoted Mr. Sargent's new plan. I was a little disconcerted to hear Mr. Sargent interviewed on The Last Word on Today FM last week. Presenter Matt Cooper decided to pick apart the whole organic movement and gave Mr. Sargent very little time to elaborate on the new plan. One of Matt Coopers comments was that the Organic sector had been given a lot of favorable press, it left me wondering if he had been reading the same newspapers as me!

I haven't read the entire Organic Action Plan for Ireland yet as I haven't been able to source it on line. I have emailed the Green Party asking for a copy and if and when they respond I hope to report on in in more detail.

Further Reading: Green Party Statement

In The News This Week

I can't let the week slip by without drawing attention to two big news stories about organic food.

I'm a bit late with the first one which is an Irish story. Trevor Sargent, former Green Party leader has left me with very little to complain about since they have been in government. I was delighted to read that he is pushing forward plans to massively increase the amount of land given over to organic production in the next 5 years. If these ambitious targets are met we can look forward to a lot more organic foods of all kinds; on our shelves, in our restaurants and in my hampers!... I am quivering with anticipation.

If you want to avoid pesticide residues in your food and you are living in the UK it seems that, unless go completely organic, you will have to live on a diet of carrots and cucumbers! Scientists working on behalf of the British governments Pesticide Residues Committee found that 70% of the free fruit and veg supplied to schoolchildren contained residues. Although some foods tested contained more that one residue, there were none found in carrots or cucumbers. Slightly less worrying, but still of concern, is that out of 220 organic samples tested 5 were found to contain chemical traces.