A Social Farming Network

Description

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. Social farming is widely practiced across Europe and is considered at an advanced stage of development in the Netherlands, Norway and Italy. It is moderately developed in countries such as France, Finland, Germany and the UK and is still a relatively new concept in Ireland. Experience has shown that well run operations provide an opportunity for inclusion for disadvantaged groups, increase their 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. From a Government perspective, they provide a collaborative framework for different Departments and agencies to work together and is seen as a vital part of the over-arching whole of government strategy aimed at delivering change for people living and working in rural Ireland as outlined in the Government’s Action Plan for Rural Development. This tender competition relates to the engagement of services for the development and implementation of a tailored work programme in support of social farming at national level.