The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) says the direction of travel within the Future Agriculture Policy is positive for Northern Ireland’s (NI) farming industry, following the announcement yesterday (24 March) by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots MLA on 54 policy decisions.
UFU president Victor Chestnutt said, “We’re encouraged that Minister Poots has taken on board many of the issues which we submitted in our response to the Future Agriculture Policy consultation. Thanks to the help of all our committee members from the various commodities, we were able to provide a detailed response to the consultation and it’s particularly encouraging to see the focus on active farmers and growers.
“Previously, we were given reassurances that the existing funding levels were secured for the next three years, and we now have over 18 months to develop the detailed measures based on this strategic framework so that we can begin the transition from the existing farm support system in 2024.
“In January of this year, we launched and presented our proposals for a new environment scheme, Farming with Nature, to the Agriculture Minister and it’s particularly encouraging that one of the Minster’s decisions central to the future policy is a Farming with Nature package developed through co-design with stakeholders. This has real potential to provide huge gains for both the environment and farm businesses.
“While we are disappointed and concerned with some of the specific decisions such as no immediate support payments being made available for sheep, work is occurring in relation to efficiencies in this sector and the possibility exists that down the line a specific support measure may be brought in.
“Overall, the Future Agriculture Policy provides the necessary support for farm families to help ensure the sustainability of our unique family farm structure as we move forward. Redefining the future policy was a once in a generation opportunity and these new approaches will support our members to continue producing high-quality food, delivering for the environment, local communities, and consumers. The next steps now must be on ensuring that new measures are developed quickly to ensure that there is sufficient time for a managed transition and for new measures and schemes to be implemented to give the farming industry much needed certainty from 2024.”
