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Sustainability at the heart of new farm scheme, minister says

Louise Cullen
BBC News NI agriculture and environment correspondent
BBC Andrew Muir standing on the shore of Lough Neagh in February 2024. He has short, dark, greying hair and glasses. He is wearing a waterproof navy coat with the collar turned up, over a blue shirt.BBC
Daera Minister Andrew Muir said the farming sector had the "most to gain" from sustainability interventions

Funding for agriculture in the future will be underpinned by "financial and environmental sustainability", the minister for agriculture, environment and rural affairs has told the Northern Ireland Assembly.

In a written statement, Andrew Muir outlined his plans for the new Sustainable Agriculture Programme (SAP), formerly known as the Farm Support and Development Programme.

He said the name change reflected "its importance in supporting change for a sustainable future".

The minister also highlighted the impact of climate change on all sectors, including agriculture, saying it had "the most to gain" from the "interventions needed to give a strong and sustainable future".

Getty Images/Alan Hopps A group of four brown and white beef heifers pictured in a field against a cloudy blue skyGetty Images/Alan Hopps
The Beef Carbon Reduction scheme within SAP seeks to reduce emissions by slaughtering animals at an earlier age

A timeline for rolling out the schemes which form the SAP will be published on the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) website.

Several, such as the Beef Carbon Reduction, have already been launched with the next phases imminent.

The list of policies to be launched this year also includes the Farming With Nature package, which the minister described as one of his "top priorities".

It will be introduced in phases with the initial announcements coming at the Balmoral Show in May.

The minister said he wanted to see all the policies underpinned by the One Health approach, where the health of people, animals and the environment are recognised as closely linked and interdependent.

A Daera spokesperson said the programme sought to "maintain output more efficiently while enhancing productivity and improving environmental sustainability".

It could "potentially reduce" livestock numbers through the removal of less productive animals.

Information events will be held across Northern Ireland in late February and March for farmers and growers.

John Martin, from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) NI said they welcome the minister's "prioritisation" of the farming with nature package, but added that "these measures can only be effective if they are adequately funded and resourced".

"In the previous NI agricultural budget, direct environmental payments accounted for less than 3% - lower than anywhere else in the UK," he said.

"Independent economic analysis also highlights that nature-friendly farming is severely under-resourced here," he added.

"A new farming with nature package is long overdue with the majority of farmers here currently not able to access agri-environmental funding."