The Department of Agriculture has been accused by the three main organic associations of adopting "the lowest common denominator" in the production of organic food in Ireland, writes Sean MacConnell, Agriculture Correspondent.
The Irish Organic Farmers' and Growers' Association, Organic Trust Ltd and Demester Standards Ltd, representing the State's organic farmers, claimed the Department has decided to make them redundant by adopting the EU regulations on organic production.
According to Ms Noreen Gibney of the association, this would mean the three groups would be deprived of their functions of inspection and certification of organic producers. "No EU country has accepted the baseline of EU standards," she said. "They have taken that as a baseline and allowed higher standards to be implemented by the organic bodies in the different countries.
"In Ireland we have commonly drawn up standards which are much higher than the EU standards, but now the Department tells us that they will implement the lowest common denominator, the EU standard," she said.
"This will have serious implications for organic producers here, especially those who are exporting produce to the UK or the rest of Europe, where higher organic production standards will apply.
"The acceptance of the EU minimum standards has thrown the whole of the organic sector into disarray."
Later today, in an unprecedented show of unity, the groups will announce at a press conference their agreed standards of organic production.