An organisation representing organic farmers is looking for reduced certification rates and a reduction in the number of organic certification bodies in Ireland.
Airing their grievances at a meeting with the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine yesterday (Thursday), members of the Organic Farmers Representative Body called for reduced certification rates charged by organic certification bodies. They also welcomed a suggestion that the number of organic certification bodies in Ireland be reduced.
The voluntary body, set up in 2010 to lobby on behalf of farmers in the sector, was chaired by Padraic Finnegan who listed the average certification rates for organic farmers based on the inspection costs of the two largest organic certification bodies in the country, the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association (IOFGA) and the Organic Trust.