The amount of agricultural land for organic production could increase from 1 to 3 per cent by 2006 if given the proper structures, the Organic Development Committee, set up by the Department of Agriculture, has concluded.
About 1,000 registered organic producers farm 30,000 hectares of land in organic systems, the committee said.
One of the central recommendations of the report is that a steering group from the sector should act as a driving force for its development. It also suggests setting up a partnership expert working group, to co-ordinate, help and monitor training, education, advice and research,
"An organic market development group should be established under the co-ordination of Bord Bia, with overall responsibility for developing a national marketing strategy for organic food," the report said.
The committee also said arrangements to collect and disseminate information about the organic sector were essential. One of the first actions should be a census of organic farming this year.
"When this first census is completed the results should be analysed to explore whether targets can be set for the development of individual areas within the organic sector," it said.
"Pending this closer analysis, the committee believe that a target of 3 per cent of land area in organic farming by 2006 is achievable," it said.
To effectively distribute information, the organic unit of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development should set up and manage an organic data base and website as a priority, into which information should be fed by the Department and other stakeholders.
The committee set out a number of high-priority recommendations, which included the need for the Department to make national regulations for organic produce.
It said these should be sufficiently rigorous to maintain consumer confidence but avoid over-regulation and unnecessary restriction.
It also recommended that Teagasc should carry out a commercial appraisal of key products, identify a network of demonstration farms and publish a range of user-friendly management literature.
Another high priority recommendation was the further development of existing advisory and information centres.
The committee said the organic market development group should use a design agency to devise a national label for Irish organic food.
On the production side, it said, a number of amendments were needed to the Rural Protection Environment Scheme (REPS), which would allow farmers with commonage or grazing rights to participate in the organic supplementary measure of the scheme.
It also argued that organic farmers in the REPS scheme should receive higher financial support for the conversion period, that the area eligible for payment of the organic supplementary measure should be increased, and that aid should be given to upgrade animal housing.