From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, together with his colleague Senator Pippa Hackett, Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity with special responsibility for Horticulture, today announced the opening of the 2025 Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector.
Minister McConalogue said:
"I am pleased to announce the opening of the 2025 Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector. Horticulture is the fourth largest agriculture sector in Ireland and the National Strategy for Horticulture 2023-2027, which was launched last year, sets out a roadmap on how we can steer the sector to a more profitable value-added future, driven by sustainability and innovation.
“One of the Strategy’s ambitions was to sustainably grow the potato sector and to achieve this, growers need access to high grade seed potatoes. This has been a major challenge for potato growers following the exit of the UK from the EU and to address that demand, I am pleased to announce that seed potato growers will now be eligible to apply for grant aid for specialised seed potato investments under the Scheme.”
The Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector covers all horticultural areas including field vegetables (including seed potatoes), mushrooms, protected food crops, amenity crops, soft fruit, and apples, and beekeeping.
Minister Hackett added:
“Government is strongly committed to the vision set out in the National Strategy for Horticulture 2023-2027 for a more profitable, value-added sector driven by sustainability and innovation. The Scheme of Investment Aid is a key lever in making that vision a reality, and I am very pleased that we are in a position to grant aid capital investments that will make a real difference to Irish growers. For Irish horticulture to thrive and grow we need to attract and retain skilled and innovative young farmers in the sector. To support young farmers, we have amended the eligibility requirements to enable more young farmers to access a higher rate of grant aid of up to 50%.
"I am pleased also to say that the Scheme now provides an increased grant aid rate of up to 50% for licensed organic horticultural operators registered with an approved organic certification body. This increased grant aid rate coupled with the recently launched National Organic Strategy 2024-2030 will help to aid the growth and expansion of the organic horticulture sector in Ireland.”
The closing date for receipt of applications under the 2025 Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector is Friday, 13 December 2024.
The Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector is intended to assist in the development of the horticulture sector, including beekeeping, by grant aiding capital investments in specialised plant and equipment including renewable energy, as well as technology adoption specific to commercial horticulture production.
You can also get them by emailing horticulturegrants@agriculture.gov.ie
This scheme aids existing producers and new entrants to horticulture at a rate of up to 40% on all approved investments, with qualifying young farmers and licensed organic growers receiving up to 50% grant aid.
The Scheme objectives include facilitating the adoption of innovative technologies, facilitating the horticulture sector to develop a targeted and precise approach focusing on environmental dividends, efficiency and growth and facilitating investment in climate change mitigation. The Scheme also aims to improve growers’ competitiveness and contribute to the improvement of agricultural incomes and thereby the long-term viability of horticultural enterprises.