Organic Centre Wales Factsheet 24: The Organic Farming Scheme (OFS)

Summary

This factsheet describes the Organic Farming Scheme, an agri-environment scheme that offers payments to farmers in Wales to help them convert to organic farming with the aim of benefiting the environment. It is a key part of the Organic Action Plan for Wales, one of the aims of which is to increase the area of agricultural land in Wales under organic management by 10 – 15% by 2010. The OFS is funded by the EU and the Welsh Assembly Government as part of the 1999-2006 Rural Development Plan (RDP) for Wales, and will be subject to revision for the new 2007-2013 RDP. Issues covered include, how payments are structured, who is eligible, how to apply and how to get advice on organic conversion.