Concerns continue to mount for farmers over what has been described as a “decimation” of the industry thanks to the recent UK government budget.
Addressing ABC councillors at their monthly meeting on Monday, Parliamentary officer at the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), Alexander Kinnear expressed grave concerns for the future viability of farming in Northern Ireland.
The UFU representative commented: “I hadn’t planned to speak at length on the budget, but obviously events over the past number of weeks have overtaken that.
“What happened as a result of the recent Budget has been quite a decimation of our industry.
“Our number one request going into the election was that our farm support development budget would not only be ring-fenced, but that it would be inflation-proofed and multi-annual.
“As a result of the Chancellor’s decisions we now no longer have any of those things, we no longer have a ring-fence on our budget, and that was something that we had carried on from whenever we left the European Union.
“We also have only a guarantee that our budget for 2025/26 will be an annual budget, and we will have to fight alongside the other departments as well.
“That brings us a lot of concern. Whenever we were in the European Union, the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) allowed us to have budgets for seven years.
“Whenever we left we then moved to five years under the Conservative government, and we have now moved to a yearly budget, which brings major concerns because there’s no guarantee in funding, and of course farming is a generational matter.
“It needs long-term investment and simply can’t rely upon annual figures.
“As well as that we’ve seismic changes in Agriculture Property Relief. Many described this decision as the straw that has broken the camel’s back, because there has been a feeling amongst the agriculture community that farmers aren’t being listened to, aren’t respected and are unwanted in our society.
“Not only are we going to see issues for family farms, but also for food security.
“We’re looking at two million extra people in the UK population by 2030, and absolutely nothing in the recent Budget to shore up food security, which should be a concern for us all, bearing in mind that Northern Ireland is feeding such a huge amount of the UK population and other populations as well.
“Moving to devolved issues, I can’t stress enough that the ring-fenced agriculture budget is the thread that runs through all of these issues.
“The number one issue which I want to touch on tonight is the issue of climate change, and of course Lough Neagh and what’s happening with the Lough, and what farmers are trying to do to overcome those challenges.
“Whenever it comes to Lough Neagh, farmers have been in for a tough time in terms of the blame game.
“As an organisation we hold our hands up and we say that our farmers have to do more, but agriculture is exactly where society wanted it to be in.
“They’re producing cheap food and producing a lot of it, and it’s going to take time for farmers to transition.
“My final point is around the independent environmental agency which appears to be the desire of the majority of politicians at Stormont.
“We don’t see any need for an independent environmental agency, because what is that going to deliver that NIEA (NI Environment Agency) haven’t already delivered?
“Another big topic is Bovine TB. This is certainly the number one issue amongst livestock farmers, and the Ministry just confirmed today that over 20,000 cattle have been slaughtered as a result of TB over the past 12 months alone. TB is out of control in Northern Ireland.
“[We also have] an out-of-control badger population impacting on ground-nesting birds, decimating the hedgehog population, and as well as that bumblebee populations.
“We want to see wildlife intervention, and our politicians at Stormont to follow the science which indicates that this is a holistic approach needed.
“The final point I want to raise is about ammonia and planning permission in Northern Ireland.
“We are seeing huge difficulties when it comes to allowing planning permission on farms to take place.
“We understand the huge ammonia problems that there are in Northern Ireland, however whenever we put forward logical arguments, such as the need for betterment and replacement of farm buildings, not only to improve our environment but also to improve animal welfare, we continually are rejected by DAERA.
“We’re looking at about 97% of Northern Ireland where you’re unable to get agriculture planning permission, which is of course a huge problem.
“Will Labour change their Budget to compensate for the detrimental impact it’s going to have on Northern Ireland? They appear to be digging in for now.
“So of course that leaves the question as to where family farm structures go to, and the next generation of farming.
“It’s vital that the support budget is ring-fenced whenever allocations are made in spring 2025.
“There are other issues that we continue to work on as an organisation, whether it’s Brexit and the importation of veterinary medicines, or areas such as renewables and biomethane.
“Our global population is going to hit 10 billion people by 2050, and during the climate change debate we often heard an argument from some within our political quarters, that Northern Ireland should feed itself alone, and forget about feeding the rest of the world.
“That’s a very selfish ambition, and we can see the wars that are going on throughout the world, and how Covid and indeed Ukraine highlighted how much pressure our food systems are under.
“Northern Ireland farmers are under pressure like never before. I think we have never been under attack on so many fronts, whether that’s to do with climate, Lough Neagh, or now the very nature on which our businesses are formed in terms of inheriting land and keeping that for the next generation.”
