Speaking after the Union’s Executive meeting, UFU President, Graham Furey, said: “The Minister’s recent announcement that she will press ahead with slightly amended proposals for Tranche 2 of the Farm Modernisation Scheme is a very poor decision and has not addressed our concerns to any meaningful extent.  Our key objective throughout this process has been to provide an equitable spread of opportunity for all farmers to access this scheme irrespective of location or sector.  We recognise the Minister’s position to target support to farmers in Less Favoured Areas but using the Farm Modernisation Scheme is not the way to do this”.

“Enhancing the existing LFA Compensatory Allowance Scheme would provide genuine support for all 13,000 LFA farmers who presently avail of this scheme. Indeed, it was the Union who identified, campaigned and ultimately secured over £7 million extra for the NI LFACA Scheme. A much smaller number of these farmers would however be successful under an LFA targeted second tranche of the Farm Modernisation Scheme.  The UFU has no intentions of excluding LFA producers from this tranche. However, the present selection criteria, which allocates 36% of the overall scheme marks to ‘land classification,’ will disadvantage large numbers of farmers, including those in the Disadvantaged Area (DA) as well as those in the lowland.”

Mr Furey continued; “We will now be writing to all of the MLAs in our Local Assembly to outline our position on this issue and to seek their support to ensure that farmers in all areas will be given a meaningful opportunity to access this second Tranche of the Farm Modernisation Scheme.”

“The whole concept of a Farm Modernisation Scheme was originally proposed by UFU members as an effective way to utilise EU Rural Development Funding which included the significant modulation funds taken directly from all producers.  It is essential that all those who contribute financially are given an equitable opportunity to access this scheme which is underpinned by their money”.