Thank you for your interest in this critical campaign to support & develop local food systems here in Ireland.
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For media or other enquiries contact: foodsystems@talamhbeo.ie
Local Food Farms generate multiple social, economic and environmental benefits. Increasing domestic food production reduces dependence on imported food, keeps more economic value circulating within local communities and strengthens Ireland’s capacity to respond to future supply chain disruptions. There is huge room for growth in this sector, while reconnecting land, people and communties. Local Food Farms:
Talamh Beo has developed a robust criteria to use as a tool in the assessment of candidates for this basic income proposal. A summary is as follows:
Through 2025 and 2026, Talamh Beo conducted in-depth primary research of Ireland’s Local Food Farms – a sector that has remained largely invisible to government and inadequately supported.
As part of this work we:
When asked what supports would help them feel hopeful and secure about their future:
This work was part of an IEN funded project entitled ‘Strengthening Local Food Economies’.
If we want thriving local food systems, we need to guarantee a fair income for Local Food Farmers, but many Local Food Farms are overlooked by the current subsidy system. As voiced by farmers in our research, a Basic Income for Local Food Farmers would:
Talamh Beo proposes a Basic Income for Local Food Farmers as a straightforward, fair and implementable income support mechanism.
Read our policy proposal overview document here.
We advocate, lobby & campaign for a better set of policy supports for the sector.
Watch this space! We are currently peer reviewing this proposal and it will be made publicly available early October 2026.
Through research, surveys & interviews we are building a clearer picture to what the current Local Food Farm landscape looks like in Ireland. We are still adding data and will launch our completed map as part of this campaign.
We will send you campaign updates - including the link to our petition when it is live - we need all hands on deck!
Click here to support the campaign by adding your information to our growing database.
Add your voice to ours by becoming a member which strengthens our power to push for real change.
Journalists & Policy makers - click here to learn more about our Campaign Launch, Oct 29th at Trinity College Dublin
Keep an eye on this space! We will be launching a petition alongside our full proposal document early October.
Local Food Farms play an important role in Ireland’s food system, supplying fresh food to domestic markets while contributing to a broad range of environmental, social and economic outcomes. Operating across horticulture, livestock, mixed farming and other diversified enterprises, Local Food Farmers strengthen local food security through shorter supply chains, generate rural employment, support local economies and contribute to biodiversity, healthier soils, education and community resilience. Their work generates significant public value that extends well beyond food production alone.
Supporting Local Food Farmers is therefore an investment in national resilience. Increasing domestic food production reduces dependence on imported food, keeps more economic value circulating within local communities and strengthens Ireland’s capacity to respond to future supply chain disruptions.
Ireland already possesses a diverse, entrepreneurial and growing Local Food Farm sector. The challenge is not a lack of demand for local food or a lack of ambition among producers, but creating the conditions that allow this sector to realise its full potential.
