Funding for farmers’ markets study

A THREE-YEAR research project examining effective structures for farmers’ markets in Ireland is being conducted at the Centre for Co-operative Studies and the Department of Food Business and Develop-ment, University College Cork.

The project seeks to establish how farmers’ markets can best be structured to increase the competitiveness and sustainability of small farmers and enhance product quality.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Brendan Smith told Fine Gael spokesman Michael Creed TD, in a written reply to a Dáil question, that his department was funding the project under the Research Stimulus Fund Programme.

Mr Smith said the project would draw on the experiences of other countries to recommend ways of improving the effectiveness of farmers’ markets in Ireland.

Mr Creed had sought a progress report in relation to a government proposal to encourage more direct selling from farmer to customer by restoring and promoting a national network of farmers’ markets.

Minister of State Trevor Sargent has, meanwhile, welcomed the launch of the European Union’s promotional campaign for organic farming.

He said the launch of the campaign was timely for Ireland. The Programme for Government sets down an ambitious target of 5% of the land area to be under organic production by 2012. Ireland is at 1%, with more than 43,000ha being farmed organically.