Covid-19 money to arrive next month

It is also envisaged that a straightforward application process will be put in place, when it comes to producers claiming the funds.

All monies will be paid into a bank account correlating with those on the DAERA Single Payment lists. Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots has outlined the sectors eligible for a £25m COVID-19 financial support package in a Written Statement to the Assembly. The Minister confirmed that businesses in the beef, dairy, sheep, potato and ornamental horticulture sectors are able to avail of the funding, to help them offset the losses incurred as a result of short term market disturbance.

Speaking about the announcement, the Minister said: “COVID-19 was a shock to the agri-food industry and caused a significant downturn in the trading ability of the sector. I made the case that the industry should be supported by the NI Executive during this difficult period and on 19 May, the NI Executive agreed a support package to help alleviate the emerging threat to Northern Ireland farm incomes.”

“Since then, I have met with numerous industry representatives and stakeholders to examine the nature and extent of the financial losses that are being incurred. 

“I have decided to target £21.4m of the £25m support package towards those businesses in the beef, dairy, sheep, potato and ornamental horticulture sectors that have been hardest hit financially and those in most immediate need as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Since other support measures are available to agricultural and horticultural businesses, rates of compensation for losses incurred have been set at 100% or 80% - depending on the nature of the business and other support already available.”

The breakdown of the £21.4m (indicative figures) is as follows:

- Support for the Beef Sector - £7m (100% losses covered)

- Support for the Dairy Sector - £11m (80% losses covered)

- Support for the Sheep Sector - £232k (100% losses covered)

- Support for the Potato Sector - £1.2 – 1.6m  (80% losses covered)

- Support for the Ornamental Horticulture Sector – £1.2m - £1.6m  (80% losses covered)

Beef producers will be eligible for two headage payments: one of £40, the other of £33. Monies will go to the last person who had control of the eligible stock for 30 days. Where milk is concerned, DAERA has confirmed that contracted supplies securing a price above 26.7ppl will not be covered by the Covid support scheme.

Edwin Poots continued: “The financial interventions that I am proposing to make will go a long way in helping these businesses survive the current crisis. However, I want to be prudent at this stage with the funding as we cannot rule out the possibility of further market disturbance as a result of this pandemic and the need for additional farmer support. 

“For that reason, I want to retain a budget of just over £7m based on the residual funding of £3.6m (from the £25m) and £3.6m that has been reprioritised internally within my Department. This would allow me to address additional issues and challenges Covid-19 may present in the weeks and months ahead. As far as I am aware, this is the most comprehensive support scheme for our primary producers available anywhere within the EU.”

Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland (LMC) Chief Executive Ian Stevenson has welcomed the support package.

Stevenson has also confirmed the critical role his organisation played in providing Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) officials with important information, which was used to formulate the two-phase support package for beef that is to be made available over the coming weeks.

Courtesy of background media briefings given by DAERA representatives earlier this week, reference was made to the detailed analysis received from the Andersons Centre, regarding the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Northern Ireland’s red meat sector. Stevenson commented: “The Andersons’ work was commissioned by LMC with the support of the Northern Ireland Meat Exporters Association and the Ulster Farmers’ Union.

“It is very re-assuring to know that the conclusions reached by the Andersons’ team were fully taken on board by DAERA.”

He continued: “LMC welcomes this very positive development to provide Covid-19 financial support for beef producers who slaughtered animals during the reference period from mid-February to the end of June 2020 and for sheep producers who slaughtered animals during the reference period from 29 March to 25 April 2020.

“We would like to commend Minister Poots for his efforts to secure a support package from the NI Executive and for the direct engagement both he and his officials undertook with industry to gather insight on market impacts and to identify where the support should be targeted based on losses incurred by the market distortions caused by Covid-19.”

According to Stevenson, LMC worked closely with the red meat industry to help quantify the specific losses incurred as a direct consequence of Covid-19 and the evidence gathered was a key factor in securing the allocation of over £7.2m of financial support to beef and sheep farmers at this time.

He commented: “Whilst we are starting to see the return of quick service restaurants and table serve meal offerings in restaurants, bars, hotels etc  as they begin to re-open we are still a long way from return to pre-Covid 19 circumstances in food service and catering outlets which are crucial for carcase balance.

“Manufacturers across the world who use hides and skins are also facing much reduced demand for their products and these markets will take a long time to recover and therefore LMC welcomes Minister Poots’ decision to retain some further financial support funding should it be needed as the year progresses.”

The LMC Chief Executive went on to point out that Northern Ireland’s meat processing industry has made significant and ongoing investment in the protection of staff, suppliers and contractors from Covid-19 and these essential social distancing and safety measures are set to stay for the foreseeable future and have created new costs for supply chains.

He concluded: “Covid-19 has created unprecedented circumstances for everyone and the red meat supply chains to their immense credit have kept functioning throughout.

“This support will be welcome relief for beef and sheep farmers who came into 2020 off a very challenging year.”

The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) says it is a positive outcome that the £25m coronavirus (COVID-19) support package provided by the NI Executive for farming businesses in Northern Ireland that suffered significant financial losses due to the pandemic, will be distributed among a range of affected agriculture sectors. 
UFU president Ivor Ferguson said: “We lobbied for numerous weeks presenting our views to Minister Poots and the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Agriculture Committee, highlighting how the region’s agri-food industry was significantly impacted financially by COVID-19. It is good to see that Minister Poots listened to our concerns and allocated the funding to a range of different farming sectors that have been affected by the virus.

“The support will be of huge benefit to those farming families across Northern Ireland in these farming sectors. It will help to stabilise the agriculture industry in its entirety, making sure we come out the other side of this pandemic together in a position that allows us to build towards a brighter future.
“Considering the tight time frame, Minister Poots did a fantastic job working on behalf of NI farmers, many of whom have been struggling since the pandemic began. Our members are grateful of the support given by the NI Executive during this difficult time.

“They recognised the immense efforts of our farmers who have been playing their part as key workers during this pandemic, overcoming numerous challenges to continue producing quality food for the nation so that consumers could purchase essential products when needed.”

Ferguson continued: “Northern Ireland is the only devolved region in the UK to get such a financial support package and we now hope that a relatively quick delivery process is established and the financial support gets distributed as quickly as possible so that farming families affected financially by the virus can benefit straight away.”

The Union’s president concluded: “We believe Minister Poots made the right call by retaining some of the £25m along with the additional £3.6m that was reprioritised internally for future needs as we do not know what lies ahead. The remaining COVID-19 funding could be provided to farming sectors who experience market disruption down the line, and it is therefore essential to have this financial support available in the wings should we need it.”

The National Beef Association (NBA) has also welcomed the Covid-19 support package.

“We have been in close contact with DAERA on this matter over the past number of weeks,” confirmed NBA Chief Executive Neil Shand.

“The one slight disappointment is that the Minister has done nothing for farmers with store cattle. The marts were closed for a fortnight at the very height of the pandemic, which meant that these farmers incurred extra costs during this period.”