The provision within the agriculture bill for the continued supports for farmers following the UK’s departure from the European Union has been welcomed by the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU).

The funding will remain in place until a new regional agricultural support policy for Northern Ireland is determined.

UFU president Ivor Fergusson voiced his concerns in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

“Speaking on behalf of the UFU at Westminster, I highlighted that ultimately the future format of support for the Northern Ireland (NI) agri industry will depend on the outcome of future trade deals with the EU or other countries. If good deals are secured, farmers may not need more support than they receive at present although the delivery format of this support could change,” he said.

Standards

He also said that if there are trade deals agreed that undermine the production standards of Northern Ireland’s agriculture sector, more support would be needed to keep farmers' business viable. He called for "resilience support" to be an integral part of possible future support measures.

Fergusson said: “It is essential for provisions to be added that will prevent food produced to standards that would be illegal in the UK being imported. Supporting sustainable and profitable food production must underpin the UK’s future agriculture policy. The UK cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to food security.”

Tracking

The UFU president also raised the need for tracking agricultural support in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) under the NI/ROI Protocol which was agreed by the UK and EU as part of the withdrawal agreement.

“We were pleased that the withdrawal agreement took into consideration the current political situation in Northern Ireland. The level of support payments given to agriculture in ROI must be tracked and matched so that NI’s competitiveness in the all-island economy is maintained.”

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