Conference to highlight commercial market opportunities for organic vegetables
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, and Minister of State for Forestry, Horticulture and Farm Safety, Michael Healy-Rae TD, today announced a conference on “Commercial Market Opportunities in Organic Vegetable Production 2025 – Field Scale and Protected Cropping” at the Department’s facilities in Backweston, Co. Kildare on Monday, 17 February 2025.
Minister Heydon said:
“I welcome this event, which highlights the growing opportunities within the organic vegetable production sector, and shows the training and financial supports that are available to growers. The event will be a unique one-stop opportunity for anyone interested in diversifying their holding to engage with leading sectoral experts and, importantly, to hear about market opportunities from those within the sector. The opportunities for diversification for existing conventional growers, as well as the prospects for new growers, will be dealt with.”
The National Strategy for Horticulture 2023-2027 was published in 2023, and aligns with, and delivers on, a specific action in Food Vision 2030 by providing a road map for the horticulture industry to ensure the future economic, social and environmental sustainability of this crucial sector. Seventy per cent of the organic vegetables currently purchased in Ireland are imported. The National Organic Strategy builds on the aim of the Horticulture Strategy for import substitution, and there is a target to reduce imports of organic vegetables to less than 50% by 2030. The purpose of this conference is to hear from existing growers about the practical requirements of growing vegetables, and to allow buyers to outline the opportunities that exist to replace imports with Irish-grown vegetables. The afternoon session will allow attendees to talk one-to-one with all the experts attending on the day.
Minister Healy-Rae stated:
“This is a valuable opportunity for families and growers in the organic farming sector to understand new opportunities and develop skills to profit from organic horticulture. The event brings together experienced experts in the organic sector, and I would encourage farm families and growers to avail of this opportunity and gain the knowledge to grow valuable cash crops on their farms.”
This is a once-off, in-depth knowledge sharing day which will feature contributions from leading organic growers, key buyers, National Organic Training Skillnet, Teagasc, the Agricultural Consultant’s Association, Organic Growers of Ireland and department staff. Registration is through the National Organic Training Skillnet website (nots.ie)