Minister for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), Andrew Muir, has outlined the benefits of his department’s new Sustainable Agriculture Programme (SAP), to dairy farmers in Northern Ireland (NI).
SAP, formerly known as the Farm Support and Development Programme, has been renamed and redesigned to better support the sustainable transition within NI’s agri-food sector.
According to DAERA, SAP is intended to meet the unique needs and challenges of the agricultural industry and is focused on achieving four outcomes: increased productivity; improved resilience; environmental sustainability; and an effective functioning supply chain.
In effect, Muir believes SAP will ensure dairy farmers across NI continue to make a major contribution to the economy while simultaneously playing a key role in addressing the serious environmental and climate challenges.
Andrew Muir on SAP
Speaking at the Dairy Council for NI conference, Muir said: “Locally we produce some of the finest dairy products in the world including milk, butter, cheese and cream, with over 2.4 billion litres of milk processed annually and exported to over 80 countries globally.
“With over 3,000 dairy farming families, approximately 317,000 dairy cows and over 2,300 people employed within our dairy processing sector, the NI dairy industry is an important contributor to our local economy, with milk contributing to 31% of the gross output of NI agriculture in 2023.
“I believe whole heartedly in the potential of our agriculture sector, to rise to the challenge of continuing to produce healthy, nutritious food, while doing more to tackle the climate and nature crisis.
“The schemes and measures of SAP will play an instrumental role in supporting our dairy farmers make the changes on-farm, to deliver a more sustainable future for current and future generations,” he added.
The Minister also referenced his ambition to invest in nature-friendly farming, with farmers being rewarded for delivering environmental benefits alongside food production.
DAERA’s ‘Farming with Nature’ package, which is led by an organisation of farmers, working alongside other bodies to promote a type of farming that is compatible with the environment, will become one of the key pillars within SAP, he said.
Muir added that farmers will also be compensated for delivering essential ecosystem services, in line with this initiative.
“The ‘Farming with Nature’ package will be introduced in a phased approach, with the aim of increasing the extent, quality and connectivity of habitats in the farm landscape, inside and outside of designated sites and priority habitat areas
“I plan to say more about this package at Balmoral Show, together with opening dates subject to business cases and legislation being in place,” the Minister noted.
