Mayo figures strongly among new applicants for Organic Farming Scheme
The Organic Farming Scheme has attracted a significant number of applicants in Mayo in 2024.
Mayo had the second-highest number of farmers joining the Organic Farming Scheme in Ireland this year.
Some 128 farmers in Mayo signed up for the scheme, a figure only bettered by Co Donegal, which had 138 new applicants.
There are now 408 farmers in Mayo signed up to the scheme, which is the fourth highest in the country after Cork (529), Roscommon (441) and Donegal (437). Some 5,017 farmers have joined the scheme over the last four years, including 1,047 last year.
In Galway, there are 364 farmers on the scheme, including 98 new applicants in 2024, while in Sligo, the total membership of the scheme is 191, with 54 of those signing up in 2024. Co Roscommon had 71 applicants this year to bring its total to 441 and Leitrim had 43 applicants in 2024 to give a total of 264.
Senator Pauline O'Reilly, Green Party candidate for Europe in Midlands-Northwest, said: “We have a tripling of the area being farmed organically in Ireland since 2020 and Mayo is the second highest county for new organic farmers in 2024. These are really significant milestones, and they show that the organic sector in Ireland is continues to grow at a significant pace. Many farmers in Ireland are at stocking rates where they can easily replace expensive chemical fertiliser and imported concentrates with multispecies grass and red clover. It takes a high level of skill and understanding of how healthy soil works to trust yourself to farm organically, and Irish farmers are well able for this challenge.”
Peter Nolan, Green Party candidate in the Westport Municipal District, said: "Mayo farmers are second highest on the leader board when it comes to entering the organic scheme in 2024. I would encourage farmers considering a move to join one of the many farm walks that have been planned by the Department of Agriculture to see if it is something that would work for them."
