Minister commits to £330M farm support fund for 2025

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​Agriculture minister, Andrew Muir MLA, will argue to secure a £330M farm support fund in 2025.

​The monies will cover the evolving farm support policies and the former Tier 2 measures, recognised under the former Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) programmes. These include additional payments that support farmers who undertake activities that improve the climate and nature:

All of this is on a par with the annual funding budgets that have been available to agriculture in Northern Ireland since Brexit.

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The Stormont Executive will formally decide on these matters over the coming weeks.

Minister Andrew Muir at the conferenceMinister Andrew Muir at the conference
Minister Andrew Muir at the conference

Minister Muir has also indicated that a separate funding stream will be identified

for the ‘just transition’ measures that relate to agriculture, as identified with Northern Ireland’s Climate Change Act.

Beyond 2025, the minister wants to secure a long term support funding agreement for agriculture, one that will be index linked where inflation is concerned.

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He spoke at the 2024 Nuffield Farming Conference, held earlier this week in Belfast.

Courtesy of his presentation the minister said that he wanted to see innovation driving a farming and food sector that was at the very heart of the local economy, adding: “This underlies the joy and satisfaction that farmers get in producing good food while caring deeply for people, their animals and the environment where they work.

“They are a great example of the passion and positivity that Nuffield seeks to inspire.”

According to Minister Muir, he will work to ensure that Northern Ireland becomes an exemplar in protecting a healthy and nature-rich environment, to lead on climate change mitigation and adaption while achieving a thriving, resilient and sustainable agri-food and fishing sectors.

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He further commented: “I am very passionate about the future. This is characterised by my determination to be innovative in using science and technology and knowledge transfer effectively to harness solutions that will not only address the challenges we face but which will also be adopted and adapted by others.”

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The minister told the conference that the agri-food industry is of great importance, both to himself and the economy of Northern Ireland.

He further explained: “It contributes almost £6 billion of output to the economy on an annual basis.

“We have over 26,000 farm family businesses, employing almost 53,000 people. A further 25,000 people are employed within the processing sector, adding value to the food coming from our farms.”

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The minister continued: “The agri-food industry has encountered many challenges over the years. And these have been faced with resilience and determination.

“We continue to face these challenges, specifically where climate change, the protection of our natural environment and the need to enhance our competiveness and resilience are concerned.

“To address these challenges will require leadership, science and innovation.”

He concluded: “We can see all of this aligning strongly with the aims of the Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust.

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“Leading is about prioritising positive and effective change.”

Minister Muir highlighted the role played by Nuffield alumni, currently working across many sectors, in helping to develop Northern Ireland’s new farm support and development programme.

He concluded: “The overall aim of this programme is to transition to a more sustainable farming sector, seeking to introduce policies that benefit our climate while also supporting our economically and socially important agricultural industry.”

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