2009: THE ORGANIC YEAR THAT WAS

In spite of the trials and tribulations every aspect of Irish life has faced this year, organic farming and food has managed to stand tall.

Difficult, challenging, and testing times no doubt, and more yet to come. This is not to say of course that everyone has grown their business, that all have even survived. It is to say, however, that the organic movement is resilient.

The organic year began with a slightly unusual announcement: the arrival of a new certification body: IMO. This global organisation specialises in various ethical certifications, including organic.

Their arrival may in the coming years open up export markets, expertise and multi layered certification and validation of Irish organic products, which may well help build the Irish organic sector - who knows? Its up to farmers and food producers to be innovative in this regard.

February saw the largest delegation yet of Irish organic food businesses at the BioFach trade show in Germany. This was one of the many innovative actions the Department of Agriculture and the organic sector took: the necessity of a weak UK market bred the ingenuity of new European markets.

The summer saw two significant occurrences: the UK Food Standards Authority's (FSA) report on nutrition, and the figures on the growth of the organic market in Ireland. This report was, in my own reasonably informed opinion, flawed in numerous ways.

In brief, however, regarding the nutritional superiority of organic over conventional: a conclusion of 'not enough evidence to make a case either ways' would have been far more accurate than the actual report's conclusion of 'no evidence'.

New excellent award winning organic products emerged: simple, honest foods like Moonshine Milk, Drumeen Farm Happy Heart Oil and Sowan's bread.

In my own small way, myself and Joe Condon have been adding to this by beavering away on the Organics with Altitude initiative. This encourages hill farmers to consider suitable upland breeds, artisan butchering, direct selling and organic certification. It has been going well for us, and I've really enjoyed getting out and about meeting farmers from Donegal to Kerry.

Also during the summer, Foras Organach was established, a streamlined and industry-led way to help develop the sector, whilst public procurement of organic finally began.

Despite or perhaps even because of the recession, the organic market actually grew in the period up to last records, July. It grew at a faster rate than its previous rate of growth,which was fast anyway. Few other areas are also growing in the Irish economy: as a stark contrast, pharmaceuticals and the multinational sector in general are.

A crucial difference between organic and these other growth areas is that organic is about one of Ireland's key and immovable natural resources � the land. Organic doesn't even have the option of relocating to Bangalore or New Deili: multi and transnational capital always has that option.

In this light, it is at least heartening that the 2009 reviewed programme for government renewed and indeed strengthened its commitment to organic.

Post budget, it was announced that all the organic cash was coming back: grant aid and both the in-conversion and area-based payments are being reintroduced at the previous levels.

And, happy new year folks: the Organic Farming Scheme returns tomorrow. Subject to new organic farmers completing a training course and business plan, they can apply from tomorrow on.

It cannot have been easy for the Minister with responsibility for organic farming, Trevor Sargent, to achieve this in the worst economic meltdown the country has even seen.

I genuinely do not think that the organic movement knows how blessed it is to have a supportive, hard working and, yes even visionary Minister at the helm: how would organic have fared in budgetary cutbacks if a journeyman with no real commitment to the sector was in there instead?

The biggest single remaining block to growth now is the issue regarding REPS 2 and REPS 3 farmers not actually being allowed convert to organic: some 30,000 don't even have the option, unless they pull out of REPS and return their payments.

Here's hoping that this crucial barrier is lifted in the New Year.