News

Farming minister visits NFFN NI steering group chair to discuss future of nature-friendly agriculture

Northern Ireland
Government
DAERA
policy

A senior politician and civil servant met nature-friendly farmers for frank discussions about the future of farming in Northern Ireland. The NFFN is urging decision-makers to put nature at the heart of food production through ambitious support and schemes for farmers.

Northern Ireland’s Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir, and a senior DAERA civil servant visited Ballyboley Dexters, a pasture-fed beef farm on the Ards Peninsula in County Down, on Tuesday 20 August. They met with the owner of the farm, NFFN NI Steering Group Chair Stephen Alexander, to have candid discussions about the future of agriculture in the country.

Stephen gave the visitors a tour of the farm, showcasing the use of regenerative practices including rearing livestock with low-input systems, planting herbal leys and taking steps to ensure high water quality.

During the visit, discussions covered the scope and ambition of the new Farming with Nature Package, the fate of the Wider and Higher levels of the Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS), and the Northern Irish Government’s Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme.

Mr Muir also met the farmers on the NFFN NI steering group at one of their regular meetings on Wednesday 28 August.

We now need fit-for-purpose schemes that are innovative, ambitious and demonstrate how farming can work alongside nature for the benefit of everybody.

Stephen Alexander

The NFFN has previously highlighted the concerns of nature-friendly farmers that Northern Ireland is falling behind the other UK nations in designing and implementing  agri-environment schemes to replace the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) following Brexit.

Politicians and civil servants in Northern Ireland should swiftly commit to ambitious and well-funded schemes. These schemes, which support farmers in farming in harmony with nature, are crucial for protecting food security and production, halting declines in nature and biodiversity, and mitigating the threat of climate change.

Stephen said: “It was great to welcome the minister to our farm and to our steering group meeting, where we were able to see his enthusiasm and engagement with our nature-friendly farming. We were also able to have honest and frank discussions, which was very valuable.

“We now need fit-for-purpose schemes that are innovative, ambitious and demonstrate how farming can work alongside nature for the benefit of everybody. 

“There is a real opportunity for Northern Ireland to learn from the experiences of creating similar schemes in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland. This could provide Northern Irish farmers with a promising future and a solid foundation to build upon. The need for strong political leadership to drive the positive, and frankly essential, changes required for farming in Northern Ireland has never been more urgent.”