UFU president, Graham Furey, has called on Government Departments and Government Agencies to sort out who takes responsibility for rivers and drainage issues across farmland.
The UFU said that farmers who needed problems resolved were being left continually frustrated as they were passed to and fro between Government Departments and Agencies.
"This is an ongoing issue which needs to be resolved," Graham Furey told Farming Life. "When farmers need a river or drainage issue sorted out they are being passed between the Rivers Agency, NI Water and the NI Environment Agency and, too often, they are being told that it is someone else's responsibility. It's time that clear lines of responsibility were established so that when a problem arises someone will take responsibility for it and more importantly take action."
Graham Furey quoted examples to back up the UFU's concerns. "Look at the situation facing farmers on the Closet River in County Armagh," he stressed. "This river is being repeatedly polluted with sewage, which has, on a number of occasions, overflowed onto their land. For months and months they have been raising their case and are still being passed between Rivers Agency, NI Water and the Environment Agency, but no one has taken responsibility and cleaned out the river.
"Also, in the recent flooding, we had Road Service criticizing farmers for letting flood water come off farmland and onto roads; but we all know that there are strict rules preventing farmers from deepening and widening field drains and sheughs, so again one Government Department doesn't seem to know what the other is doing.
"And we've had serious incidents where flood defences on rivers such as the Moyola have failed and someone must take responsibility for this and get them upgraded.
"These are practical issues which farmers have to deal with and we want Government Departments to get together and sort this out. At the moment it's not good enough."