UFU president William Irvine and UFU deputy president John McLenaghan pictured at Stormont.
The Ulster Farmers’ Union has engaged in a series of high-level meetings this week, to raise serious concerns around the proposals outlined in the Nutrient Action Programme (NAP) consultation.
Yesterday (Monday 2 June), UFU representatives held two meetings with DAERA and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, focusing on the scientific and practical implications of the proposed measures. And today, UFU president William Irvine led a delegation to Stormont to meet with Minister Andrew Muir and senior DAERA officials.
Speaking after the meeting Mr Irvine said, “The Minister acknowledged the depth of concern within the farming industry regarding the NAP proposals. Our discussion was robust and we made it crystal clear that the consultation process has been deeply flawed, both in its approach and in its content. There has been no economic impact assessment and no thorough engagement was carried out with stakeholders ahead of the consultation publication.
“The farming community acknowledge the need to improve water quality and we will play our part in a holistic approach, but we feel totally blindsided. Our members are frustrated that proposals of such magnitude have been brought forward without thorough analysis of the real-world impact on farm businesses, food production and rural livelihoods.”
The UFU is now awaiting a written response from Minister Muir following this morning’s discussions. A meeting of agri-industry stakeholders is scheduled for first thing tomorrow morning (Wednesday 4 June), to discuss the next steps, including the potential for future legal action. The UFU Executive Committee will also meet tomorrow to determine the UFU’s course of action.
“We are not ruling out legal action. Our members expect us to stand up for them, and that’s exactly what we intend to do,” said Mr Irvine.
