The Ulster Farmers Union has welcomed the European Commission's approval of the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014 – 2020. It has now urged the agriculture minister, Michelle O’Neill, to deliver the funding as quickly as possible without the excessive red tape that has plagued the previous programmes.
The total funds for Northern Ireland will be up to £623 million.
“The new RDP is of vital importance to the farming and rural community and offers an ideal opportunity to help drive for further advances of the agri-food industry and to support the ‘Going for Growth’ strategy,” said UFU president Ian Marshall.
“Now that we finally have approval from Brussels, it's important DARD ensures a smooth delivery of this programme. It is vital that the various strategic measures are opened as soon as possible and targeted to allow farmers and rural communities to benefit from these schemes.”
The UFU believe it is essential that delivery is around a more simple and effective system than with past RDP programmes.
“It will be up to the Department to ensure that this programme doesn’t involve spending excessive amounts of time on application forms, with long delays between completing forms and finding out if an application has been successful,” he said, adding that a more simple and flexible approach would achieve what all involved want – mechanisms that help get money on the ground as quickly as possible.
The UFU has and will continue to work with DARD as the RDP 2014 – 2020 is rolled out.
