The Department of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs’ (DAERA) new sustainable agriculture programme “has failed to deliver” for sheep farmers in Northern Ireland, according to Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart.
“Last September, I backed an industry-wide campaign aimed at securing financial support for flock owners,” Lockhart said.
“The sheep sector is worth over £109m [€131 million] to our economy, but DAERA’s new-look sustainable agriculture programme remains biased and has failed to deliver for the 38% of farmers in Northern Ireland, who, according to 2024 census figures, are responsible for 1,969,023 sheep,” she added.
Lockhart, the Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) agriculture, environment and rural affairs spokesperson in Westminster, recently met with National Sheep Association chairman, Edward Adamson MBE, and regional co-ordinator, Ellen Moorehead.
The DUP MP has called for DAERA and the Stormont Assembly to implement a funding support package for farmers in Northern Ireland.
“Sheep farmers are already struggling to survive on low margins, especially those whose enterprises are located on hill and severely disadvantaged farmland,” Lockhart said.
“The future looks bleak for the sector with flock owners set to lose up to 17% of their basic payments this year,” she added.
Sheep sector
Lockhart believes the Minister of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland, Andrew Muir, has “totally disregarded” recommendations from the NI Sheep Industry Taskforce that emphasised the necessity for a designated scheme.
“Minister Muir’s new schemes and funding measures focus heavily on climate change and environmental sustainability,” she said.
“Obviously sheep farmers are not eligible for the Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme, or the Suckler Cow Scheme, but a number of other initiatives could have easily been designed to make provision for sheep farmers.
“After all, sheep are already nature-friendly. They are lightweight animals and can graze less favoured terrain such as the Sperrin or Mourne Mountains and the Glens of Antrim.
“This is typical of DAERA, they have pressed ahead without industry consultation, and have fell short of delivering a scheme capable of benefiting a maximum number of participants,” she concluded.
