Ulster Farmers’ Union President Ian Marshall has said that the news that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) has decided to cut 26 CAFRE training jobs is ‘disappointing and short-sighted’.
Ian Marshall said: “We all recognise that we are in a time of austerity and that DARD is expected to make significant cuts to its budget. Unfortunately this is resulting in job losses but we have always urged DARD to take a strategic and long term view when it comes to these cuts and to ensure that front line services are protected. Overall, I think many people will struggle to understand why DARD is cutting frontline service jobs, especially at a time when they are continuing to push ahead with spending at least £75,000 per person to relocate 600 head office jobs to Ballykelly.
“I can’t imagine officials in DARD are taking these cuts and job loss decisions lightly but this news is particularly disappointing given the nature of these training courses. Many of these short courses focus around health and safety issues, and as a member of the Farm Safety Partnership I have serious concerns that by cutting these courses what message is that sending to farmers about DARD’s priorities around health and safety. Also with the plans to grow and develop the NI agri-food industry there will now be a gap in the support for farmers looking to improve and develop their skills. While accessing training through private companies is a potential option, CAFRE has a long standing reputation for delivering high quality training at a reasonable cost and it is regrettable that farmers will no longer have this option available to them.”
