The commitments in the new programme for government to organic farming will be warmly welcomed by the organic sector.
With such a difficult budgetary situation, and the image organic food has, rightly or wrongly, as being somewhat elitist, the re-emphasis of the commitment to 5% Utilisable Land Area as organic was a significant achievement.
The context naturally worked well for the Greens who obviously felt they deserved some compensation after the local elections.
The shrinking overall majority, coupled with fear of an election also surely contributed.
Here's what the programme for government says in full on organic:
�Ensure the achievement of the target of 5% of land in organic agriculture and meet the growing demand for domestically produced organic produce by providing adequate resources and supports for the achievement of the target, with a focus on import substitution in areas where Ireland is under producing at present e.g. horticulture. Beginning in 2010, and rising in subsequent years, stepping up supports for the Organic Farming Scheme for conversion to organic production, Capital Grants for the Organic Sector and Non-Capital costs.�
There are a number of interesting elements in this. First is the fact that there are actually details: previously there was just a statement of intent.
The emphasis on import substitution is especially noteworthy. Focusing in on horticulture may, to a cynic, reflect the minister's own north county Dublin constituency, but it also represents a real area of growth potential.
There are many hundreds of people trained in organic horticulture in Ireland, while few have moved over into full time production.
The commitment to supports �rising in subsequent years� is eye catching to say the least. Indeed, the fact that all organic supports are back, having been suspended until now, is very significant.
These include the capital grant aid, which was suspended before the organic farming scheme itself earlier in the year.
In completely uncertain times, this element of the progrmame for government should help farmers who are thinking about organics:
"This firm commitment should encourage farmers who might be considering the organic option for the first time to take it a step further and prepare to apply for support in 2010", Minister Sargent said in a statement accompanying the document.
It would be inconceivable if these commitments were reneged upon in the upcoming budget.
There are other interesting elements in the programme from an organic farming perspective. The commitment to GM free is far stronger than the previous quite vague, aspirational commitment.
Not only does the new programme commit to �Declare the Republic of Ireland a GM-Free Zone, free from the cultivation of all GM plants�, �a voluntary GM-Free logo for use in all relevant product labelling and advertising, similar to a scheme recently introduced in Germany� is being introduced.
This element of the programme has received much negative press, mainly in relation to the price and availability of feed.
However, there are counter arguments. It is claimed by GM free Ireland that there is ample affordable GM-free feed availability. They cite availability from Brazil, where they claim 45% of soya produced is now GM free.
Indeed, they claim that � France imports around 500,000 to 600,000 tonnes of Non-GM soya annually, equivalent to Ireland's total soy feed imports for 2007�.
They go on to claim that while GM free soya is charged at a premium, the premium is recouped with a mark up for GM-free labelled produce.
It is also the case that farming in Ireland is less feed dependent that farming elsewhere: Ireland has a very long grass growing season. The potential to aim for the higher end, grass fed, GM free and occasionally even organic markets across the EU and further afield is certainly there.
This will involve a leap of faith into a brave new world of finding better paying markets, but that is a task surely worth taking on.
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