Northern Irish farmers will receive a slice of a £12.4 million fund to help boost the sector following the impact caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The fund was issued by the NI government to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) as part of the Covid stakeholder support scheme.
Around £5m worth of the £12.4m fund will help protect and boost those farming sectors that have suffered significant losses since March 2020.
Farming minister Edwin Poots said: “This will now take the amount I have secured to safeguard our rural economy and environment sectors, to over £60m.
“Adding to last year’s investment, some £5m in 2021-22, is earmarked for agricultural market support to address any difficulties in trading conditions.
"For example, I am actively looking at a support package for processing potato suppliers in response to the closure of catering outlets over recent months."
This funding is in addition to the £25m secured last year for agriculture, which offered a lifeline to beef, sheep, pig, horticulture and dairy farmers.
Mr Poots continued: “I am very proud of all the hard work my has Department completed during the pandemic to ensure they were able to target last year’s monies towards those who needed it most.
"This new round of funding will provide us with the means of addressing the needs of those who require help urgently."
The breakdown of the funding allocations is as follows: £5m farming support; £3.8m waste water; £2m green recovery; £1m rural community schemes and £0.6m loss of income and operating costs.
