Wilson: Minister is out of touch with the realities facing family farms
DUP Newry & Armagh MLA Gareth Wilson has criticised Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir for dismissing farmers' concerns over mandatory carbon audits, warning that increasing regulatory and financial pressures risk undermining Northern Ireland's food production.
Speaking following exchanges in the Assembly, Mr Wilson said: “The Minister is out of touch with the realities facing family farms across Northern Ireland.
"Hundreds of farmers have contacted me because they are genuinely worried about their livelihoods. They are already dealing with rising costs and increasing regulatory demands. They deserve to have those concerns taken seriously.
"Instead, the Minister has turned what began as a voluntary initiative into a mandatory scheme backed by financial penalties. Farmers who fail to comply face losing 10% of their farm payments from May 2029, rising to 15% the following year.
"That is money being taken directly out of family farm businesses. The Minister boasts about supporting agriculture, yet he is prepared to penalise the very farmers who produce the food we put on our tables,” added Mr Wilson.
"He has refused to undertake the cost-benefit analysis of climate change measures that the DUP has called for, yet expects farmers to accept the financial consequences of his policies without question.
"The real economic illiteracy is pursuing policies that risk driving food production out of Northern Ireland, only to leave us increasingly reliant on imports from countries with lower environmental standards.
"Exporting our food production will not solve climate change. It will simply export jobs and emissions while weakening our own food security.
"Nobody is opposed to helping farmers become more efficient or environmentally sustainable. But there is a world of difference between supporting farmers and threatening to cut their payments.
"The Minister needs to stop lecturing farmers and start listening to them. The DUP will continue to oppose these penalties. Our family farms deserve support, not punishment.”