Farmers for Action (FFA) has confirmed that representatives from the organisation will meet Stormont agriculture minister, Andrew Muir, during the second week of September.
“The exact date has yet to be fixed. But the meeting will take place in Belfast,” said FFA spokespersonm, William Taylor.
“The main item on the agenda will be the proposed enactment of our Northern Ireland Farm Welfare Bill.
“We will be telling the minister that the proposed legislation represents the most effective way of delivering sustainable farm gate prices in Northern Ireland,” Taylor added.
FFA also intends raising the issue of the recent decision taken by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to issue all communications with farmers in a digital format only. This development is to take effect over the coming months.
“DAERA has indicated that consultations with stakeholder groups have already taken place on this matter. However, I can confirm that no contact, whatsoever, was made with FFA on this issue,” Taylor continued.
Stormont
Taylor attributes the decision to introduce a solely digital-based communications’ policy to a mindset held by top DAERA civil servants
“This move really shows just how arrogant and out of touch these people really are.
“Increasingly, FFA is hearing from hard working and frustrated DAERA staff on the ground across Northern Ireland that their senior personnel do not listen to common sense anymore.
“Rural Northern Ireland is not in a good place at the present time. Stormont and its ministers need to step up and hold senior civil servants to account and definitely not the other way around.”
Meanwhile, the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) is committing to co-ordinate the opposition of stakeholder, groups operating across the breadth of agriculture in Northern Ireland, to DAERA’s digital-only communications’ strategy.
ACA chair, Damian McCloskey commented: “This came up at a stakeholder meeting, involving DAERA officials, three weeks ago.
“And the idea just won’t fly. Between 10% and 15% of farmers in Northern Ireland don’t have computers, smart phones and/or email addresses.
“They are not going to change now. This is, very much, an age-related issue. Older farmers don’t do digital.
“In addition, many farmers are happy to allow consultants act on their behalf when it comes to making the likes of completing and submitting single payment applications.
A follow-up stakeholder meeting involving representatives from the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU), the Northern Ireland Agricultural Producers Association (NIAPA) and ACA is scheduled for October.
McCloskey continued:
“The DAERA decision to move solely to digital communication will be the number one item on the agenda at that time.
“If the department of agriculture’s stance on the issue has not changed by October, a targeted lobbying campaign on the part of all the stakeholder organisations will be drawn up as a matter of priority.”
