The Irish Farms Accounts Cooperative (IFAC) has welcomed the announcement that the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) has reopened. The Organic Farming Scheme is a measure rolled out by the Department of Agriculture under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020.
Under the scheme, farmers are given the opportunity to enter into a contract which gives payments of up to €200 per hectare a year during the conversion period and up to €170 per hectare when full organic status has been reached. The scheme is co-funded by the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
Tommy Fallon, Partner at IFAC Roscommon said: “We welcome the reintroduction of the Organic Farming Scheme. It is a key support measure to help farmers convert to organic farming and help farmers break into the growing organic market in Ireland. Reopening this scheme is a huge reassurance that the Department is still behind and supporting the sector”.
Closing date for applications is Wednesday, December 19th and details of terms and conditions are available on the Department’s organics page at www.agriculture.ie.
