Ireland is near the bottom of the list of countries producing organic food, with only 0.8 per cent of our agricultural land being used for this purpose, according to an EU survey.
Increasing the growth of the organic sector is likely to be a priority for the new Government, as it is now expected that the former leader of the Green Party, Trevor Sargent, will be named minister of State with responsibility for food and horticulture. The Green Party advocates a major increase in organic output, highlighting the fact that Ireland has to import nearly three-quarters of the organic food consumed here.
The report said that in the 25 EU states surveyed in 2005, only 3.9 per cent of total utilised agricultural land was being farmed organically. The highest proportion was in Austria, which had 11 per cent. The lowest level of organic holdings was in Malta, which returned only 0.1 per cent. Ireland was third from bottom at 0.8 per cent. Overall in the 25 countries, 1.6 per cent of all agricultural holdings were organic holdings.