merrion street

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD has announced a competitive public procurement procedure under the 2021 Rural Innovation and Development Fund seeking service providers with the vision and capability to develop a substantial social farming model project. Funding of €400,000 is available this year with a maximum of €100,000 available for any one project.

Minister McConalogue stated, “I am pleased to announce my Department has issued this request for tender. Social farming is an exciting and successful venture that has many benefits. It’s an initiative which fosters inclusion amongst disadvantaged groups and has proven to allow  participants build self-esteem and improve health and well-being. When operating from a working family farm, these initiatives support farm diversification and help farmers connect with the wider community.”

The tender has been posted on the eTenders website www.etenders.gov.ie (RFT  186491 - The provision of a social farming project) with a closing date of 5pm on 10 May 2021.

Social farming is the practice of offering, on a voluntary basis, farming and horticultural participation in a farming environment as a choice to people who avail of a range of therapeutic day support services.  These operations are run in a number of settings ranging from working family farms, local community initiatives through to more institutional frameworks.