Northern Irish farmers in disadvantaged areas will gain £8 million to fund a one-year 'transitional scheme' for the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) scheme.
The ANC scheme provides payments to eligible farmers to cover additional costs and lost income due to constraints on agricultural production in severely disadvantaged areas.
Northern Ireland's Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen said farming in disadvantaged areas comes with 'distinct challenges'.
“That is why I have decided to continue to help support these farmers by extending the ANC scheme for another year. This scheme will put £8 million into the farmers’ pockets, in addition to the support they receive from Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Pillar I funding,” she said.
“Farmers will be able to apply to the 2018 ANC scheme on their 2017 Single Application Form. This will be a rollover of the current scheme and will consist of a one year payment to farmers in severely disadvantaged areas.
Ulster Farmers’ Union deputy president Victor Chestnutt says that the announcement is an 'important commitment' for those farming in severely disadvantaged areas.
“While we would have preferred a larger allocation for a longer period of time, we have to be realistic about how this scheme was going to be funded,” said Mr Chestnutt.
“Currently there are no existing funds within the Rural Development Programme to support the continuation of the scheme and the transfer of funding from Pillar 1 to Pillar 2 was an option we weren’t prepared to consider,” he said adding that it was commendable that the Minister managed to secure funding, through the Northern Executive, which can provide support to producers in severely disadvantaged areas for a further year.
'Vital production'
Primary production of beef and lamb from severely disadvantaged areas makes a vital contribution to the red meat industry in Northern Ireland by producing a large percentage of suckled calves, store lambs and breeding ewes that are destined for the lowlands for further production.
“As we know, margins from livestock production are tight, while in severely disadvantaged areas there is also the reality that the complex landscape and tough climatic conditions means there are limited opportunities to diversify into other enterprises,” said the UFU deputy president.
“It is also crucial to acknowledge the contribution that livestock production in these areas make to the conservation of our rural environment whether that be in supporting biodiversity, our growing tourist industry or reducing the risk of costly wildfire incidents, which have often resulted as a consequence of land abandonment. All of these factors help to contribute to a coherent argument for providing an additional support package for these farms.”
While this is a positive outcome from a difficult set of circumstances the UFU says it cannot ignore the fact that this is only a short term solution. Income on severely disadvantaged areas is much lower than lowland farms, and there is a dependency on less favoured area and agri-environment schemes to sustain these farms.
“So while this ANC transition funding is welcome, there is still a major income deficit to contend with,” said Victor Chestnutt. “In the short term there is a need for the Minister to focus on delivering an agri-environment scheme as quickly as possible and the continued delays are at this stage verging on farcical and the longer the delay the greater the adverse impact on our local farms and environment. In the longer term after the UK leaves the European Union, the opportunity will exist with the creation of a new UK agriculture policy for this to be genuinely addressed.”
