Growing opportunities for organic vegetable producers will be the key focus of a conference to be held by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), later this month.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, and the Minister of State for Forestry, Horticulture and Farm Safety, Michael Healy-Rae, today (Friday, February 7) announced details of the one day event.

The conference will take place at DAFM's facilities in Backweston, Co. Kildare, on Monday, February 17, 2025.

According to DAFM, 70% of organic vegetables currently purchased in Ireland are imported.

In 2023, the National Strategy for Horticulture was published which set out a road map for the horticulture industry to "ensure the future economic, social, and environmental sustainability of the sector".

As a follow up, the National Organic Strategy was published in 2024, and includes a target to reduce imports of organic vegetables to less than 50% by 2030.

DAFM said the purpose of the conference is to hear from existing growers about the practical requirements of growing vegetables, and to allow buyers to outline the opportunities that exist to replace imports with Irish-grown vegetables.

The conference will begin with an address from the ministers, followed by a discussion about the grants available in the horticulture sector.

This will be followed by a discussion on "diversification through protective cropping", and "growing at field scale".

After lunch, there will be an update from Bord Bia about Irish markets, followed by a panel discussion with Carmel Biggane, Paul Begley, and Kenneth Keavey.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Minister Healy-Rae said: “This is a valuable opportunity for families and growers in the organic farming sector to understand new opportunities and develop skills to profit from organic horticulture.