Commodity watch by UFU assistant policy manager Aileen Lawson.
In 2024, the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) secured funding from the DAERA Environment Fund Water Quality Improvement Strand to launch the Farm Water Project, a collaborative initiative aimed at supporting farmers to enhance water quality while protecting farm viability. The project brings together expertise from Countryside Services Limited (CSL) and The Rivers Trust alongside the UFU, forming a partnership that blends practical farming knowledge with specialist environmental advice. The project is led and reviewed by the Farm Water Steering Group with the UFU Environment Committee chair, vice chair and policy officer representing the Union.
The Rivers Trust has been leading the Sustainable Catchment Programme (SCP) in Northern Ireland. This is an ambitious, multi-million-pound initiative designed to support farmers through independent, non-regulatory guidance and fully funded interventions. Their water friendly farm advisors work directly with farmers to reduce nutrient and soil runoff through simple, evidence-based actions that protect local rivers and biodiversity while helping farmers improve efficiency.
The Farm Water Project compliments and strengthens this SCP work.
Phase one of the Farm Water Project focused on engaging farmer focus groups and sector experts to review SCP materials and began developing a new farm water awareness course and supporting resources. CSL staff also began specialist training with the Rivers Trust to enable them to support catchment work on farms.
Phase two, running until spring 2026, will expand this effort. Revised resources will be rolled out across catchments, training will be further developed and CSL advisers will be further upskilled to support farmers looking for practical, tailored solutions on farms in relation to water management.
It is a regular feature of discussions with DAERA and others that relevant and useful one-to-one tailored advice is the best way to deliver farm and environmental improvements when required, yet Government are moving further away from this tried and tested model. Research proves that this method works and while too often this approach is ruled out for being too expensive and burdensome by officials, independent organisations such as the UFU and The Rivers Trust are demonstrating that investing funding in this way can pay off.
Water quality remains one of the most significant challenges facing Northern Ireland agriculture, particularly since DAERA launched the consultation on the revised Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) in addition to other wider environmental rules. The Farm Water Project has been created to help meet these challenges proactively, providing support in a non-regulatory way that works for both farmers and the environment.
Improving water quality is required but so is safeguarding the family farms that sustain our food system. This project and others like it demonstrate that collaboration, not punitive regulation, is the most effective way to achieve meaningful environmental progress.
