Fine Gael TD and Minster of State with responsibility for Organics at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Andrew Doyle, has announced that 2019 advance payments for farmers in the Organic Farming Scheme have commenced. Payments to the value of approximately €6.1 million have already been made to almost 1,300 farmers, commencing at the end of November. Payments will continue to be made to farmers between now and the end of the year.
The Minister commented “I am delighted to announce that advance payments commenced ahead of schedule and earlier than last year. The Organic Farming Scheme is one of our most successful schemes under our current Rural Development Programme and it has more than achieved its targets in terms of land converted and maintained for organics.”
The payments to farmers under this scheme mean that since September, DAFM has paid out a total of €1.55 Billion in direct payment to farmers.
The Minister concluded “my Department has delivered the biggest Organics scheme ever seen in Ireland under this RDP and we re-opened it last year to new entrants. I’m delighted to be meeting our commitments to the scheme participants on payments and would encourage all stakeholders to continue to engage with the CAP consultation process to inform the shape of the next Organics scheme”.
