The Organic Centre at Rossinver, Co Leitrim was celebrating a £60,000 sponsorship deal with Musgrave this week. It will go towards training a new generation of organic farmers.
There is an increasing demand for organic produce in Irish supermarkets, 70 per cent of which is imported, and the organic market is growing by 25 to 30 per cent a year.
The Rossinver centre, through training and information, is encouraging more producers to go organic to fill this obvious gap in the market.
The manager of the centre, Mr John O'Neill, said the sponsorship deal was very important, not just because of the sum involved but also because Musgrave is a major player in the retail sector. The Musgrave Group owns the franchises of 500 Supervalu and Centra stores.
"We're delighted that Musgrave is supporting us. They can't get supplies of organic produce so they want to help us develop the sector," he said.
Established in 1995 as a non-profit making organisation to provide information and training about organic growing, the centre has seen considerable development in recent years. A new £500,000 training and visitor centre, which includes a shop, cafe and library as well as a conference room, will open before Christmas.
A full-time training course is offered in addition to a wide range of short courses. Other activities include a schools programme and a scheme for people from disadvantaged groups. Visitors are welcome at the centre where they can see an edible flower garden, a herb garden, a children's garden and a heritage garden.
This contains old varieties of Irish plants which are now in danger of dying out as commercial hybrids take over.