A ‘Get Ireland Growing’ campaign is to be launched at the end of the month by the Republic’s Green Party, the junior partner in the ruling coalition government.

The campaign will form part of the Greens’ drive to win more seats in local council elections, due to take place in June. And to press home the message of growing your own food, the party is planning to distribute trowels, gardening gloves, seed markers and other related materials with its election literature.

Heading the campaign will be prominent Green Party member and former leader Trevor Sargent, who also happens to be horticulture minister. “I’ve been trying to push this idea for years,” he said, “but now, with the recession and increasing concern over food security, it’s finally gaining traction.”

Sargent belives that people have started to realise that it is much more economical to grow their own food, as evidenced by the fact that seed companies are reporting record sales. There is also a realisation that with an increasing population and global warming, Ireland will not be able to import all the food it needs.

“In future we won’t be able to depend on China for our onions, Africa for our beans or South America for our asparagus,” he said. “These countries will need to keep the food they grow to feed their own people, so we have to be prepared for that. This ‘Get Ireland Growing’ campaign is aimed at everyone.”

In addition to the distribution of ‘grow your own’ equipment and materials, the Greens will be seeking to make it easier for people to set up allotments. The party’s ministers will be pressing local authorities to allow waste land to be converted for that purpose, and will also be urging a similar approach in the case of state-owned land that is not being used.

“We would like to have an allotment in Phoenix Park, in the heart of Dublin, with someone on hand to tell people about the best vegetables to grow, depending on the season and the weather,” explained Sargent. “In Britain, for example, they have done that in St James’s Park, right in the centre of London, and it’s a huge success.”

According to a Green Party spokeswoman, commercial growers would also benefit from the ‘Get Ireland Growing ‘ campaign, as it would not only increase demand but would also force multiples to stock better quality produce and to pay more for it. She said talks were taking place with some farmers who may be willing to lease land to those interested in growing their own food.

Meanwhile, a Dublin seed merchant, Thomas Quearney, confirmed that sales are “going through the roof”, helped by the recession, as the grow-your-own movement gathers pace in both town and country. The success of farmers’ markets has been a major factor, he said, as people see the quality of produce that is available.

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