The scheme has a budget of €1.5 million to support investments in the Irish organic processing sector. Announcing the scheme, Minister Hackett said: “There is a growing momentum behind organic farming with a doubling of the number of organic farmers this year to 4,000. It is of paramount importance that we ensure that a market premium is obtained for organic output. Investing in our processing sector, which allows organic processors to increase efficiencies and capacity, is key to this."
The OPIG scheme provides funding to processors who wish to invest in developing facilities for the processing, preparation, grading, packing and storage of organic products. Minister Hackett continued: “I anticipate significant interest from industry in the OPIG scheme which will on January 1st and remain open until January 31st. This scheme, along with the recently announced promotional funding for Bord Bia it shows organic farmers that every effort is being made to ensure there will be demand for their produce in both domestic and international markets. Now is the time for farmers to make the choice to join the growing numbers of Irish organic farmers.” The Minister concluded by reminding farmers that the that the closing date for the receipt of applications to the Organic Farming Scheme has been extended to Friday 15th December, and that applications will continue to be accepted up to this date.