Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, Andrew Muir, has been asked to endorse the introduction of a Farm Welfare Bill for Northern Ireland with immediate effect.
The request has come in the form of a letter from Farmers for Action (FFA) to the member of the Northern Ireland Executive.
FFA spokesperson, William Taylor, said: “The clock is ticking. The proposed Bill must be put in front of the Stormont Assembly over the coming weeks.
“Otherwise, there will not be enough time to get the measure through the various legislative processes during the current assembly’s remit.”
If Minister Muir does not accede to this request, then FFA will approach every MLA at Stormont on an individual basis, seeking support for the Farm Welfare Bill.
Taylor continued: “The need for the proposed farm support measure is greater than ever.
“Specifically, it will act to generate a platform within which succession and generation renewal within agriculture can take place in an effective manner.”
The FFA representative has noted the intention of Andrew Muir to introduce a new pilot succession planning scheme – Planning for the Generations.
Farm Welfare Bill
“It’s hard to plan for generational renewal within any sectors if the businesses within it are not generating sustainable incomes.
“The Farm Welfare Bill would return family farmers in Northern Ireland a minimum of the true cost of production inflation linked plus a margin for their produce.
“This would then make succession planning viable and automatic without any Government intervention,” Taylor added.
Earlier this year, FFA briefed the Stormont agriculture committee on the envisaged impact of the proposed legislation.
“We are hoping to hear back from committee members in the near future.
“FFA remains totally committee to the principles contained within the Farm Welfare Bill,” he said.
According to the FFA representative, the proposed legislation is designed to prevent damage to the welfare of farming families by making provision for the prices of farm produce.
It specifically references the appointment of a Fair Farm Gate Pricing Panel, the members of which will oversee the compilation and maintenance of the relevant prices paid back to primary producers.
“This Bill has been developing since 2013 and was virtually ready to go when Stormont fell in 2016. When Stormont reconvened in 2020 again the Bill was ready to go and then COVID-19 struck.
“However, all these events have allowed the Bill to be honed to suit whatever the world can throw at farming families and never more so than now,” Taylor added.
