The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, T.D, has confirmed that the LEADER Food Initiative, which provides funding support for new and existing artisan, micro and small food producers, will continue next year during the CAP transition period.

Minister McConalogue stated, “I am pleased that this important programme will continue next year, and that there will be an increase in the maximum rate of aid from 50% to 75% in line with changes to LEADER generally.  This decision ensures that continued funding will be available to assist small food producers to develop new food offerings, new routes to sell their produce, and to support the rural economy at this critical time.”

The €15 million LEADER Food Initiative, which is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the Rural Development Programme, will continue to support new and existing food and beverage producers in areas such as (1) market development, (2) competitiveness, and (3) innovation. A new call for applications will be launched in 2021, following on from an initial €5m call in 2018, for which approvals have been issued. The maximum amount of funding permitted is €200,000 per project.

The organic sector in Ireland continues to grow and this year has grown by 16.2%. Bord Bia have commissioned a number of reports on the sector all of which you can read below.

IrelandKantarOrganicDeckFINAL091120

Organic Eggs report – Feb 2020 – FINAL RFS

UKOrganic KantarPresFinal091120

The Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine have issued a circular to organic licence holders on implications for trade post December 31st. To read the circular in full please click below.

Circular No. 2_2020_Brexit

In Budget 2021 funding for the organic sector has increased by 13%, this includes funding to allow new entrants into the organic farming scheme. Minister Pippa Hackett outlines more about the proposal in the Irish Independent, and Gillian Westbrook, CEO of the Irish Organic Association welcomes the move. CLICK HERE to read the full article.

The transition period for Brexit ends on 31st December 2020. From this date there are serious implications for Irish organic license holders. See below for some key points which may be of particular relevance to you;

Seeds / Transplants: Under the Plant Health Reg 2016/2031 Irish Organic operators buying seeds/transplants from the UK (excl. Northern Ireland) or selling seeds/transplants to the UK (excl. Northern Ireland) will be required to register with DAFM as a professional operator. This registration will also cover imports and exports to and from the UK. All seeds, plants and plant products coming from the UK (excl. Northern Ireland) from January 1^st 2021 will require a phytosanitary certificate. CLICK HERE to read more about the necessary registration documents, import and export procedures and FAQ.

Organic Food/Feed: All registered organic operators purchasing food/feed products from UK (excl. Northern Ireland) must register on TRACES as an organic importer and comply with specific advance notification requirements required by DAFM. Labels/packaging for existing products containing ingredients of agricultural origin in the UK must be amended to reflect the non-EU origin of those ingredients all label amendments must be sent to IOA for approval prior to printing. CLICK HERE for information on TRACES.

Northern Ireland Organic Agricultural Products: Because of the Northern Ireland Protocol and subject to the final Brexit outcome (and associated trade deal) organic food, feed and seeds/transplants of agricultural origin in Northern Ireland can be imported to the Republic of Ireland as “EU Organic” (and therefore without the necessity for an electronic Certificate of Inspection from TRACES. These products can be labelled with the EU organic logo as EU Agriculture. This is provided their certification body (if not an established Republic of Ireland OCB is already operating in Northern Ireland), is established in Northern Ireland, is approved by the European Commission and is listed in Annex III of the most up to date amended version of Commission Regulation 1235/2008.

For more information please consult the European Commission and Food Safety Authority of Ireland websites, see specific links below:

https://ec.europa.eu/info/european-union-and-united-kingdom-forging-new-partnership/future-partnership/getting-ready-end-transition-period_en

https://www.fsai.ie/food_businesses/brexit.html