NAP Stakeholder Forum Meeting to Take Place on Monday 27th July at AFBI
In advance of the Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) Stakeholder Forum Meeting on Monday 27th July at AFBI – FFA want to make clear that they were not invited onto the NAP Task and Finish Group set up by Minister Muir, so the views expressed in the NAP consultation document do not reflect the views of Farmers For Action.
Sean McAuley FFA spokesperson said: “It concerns us greatly that a lot of proposals are to be filtered in stage-by-stage, which means the end results may not be much different from what was originally proposed, which farmers rejected overwhelmingly.
“While these proposals are directed to the farming community, we note that there has been no move to impose similar restrictions on NI Water.
“We are, along with others, in what is called the NAP Forum, therefore our invite as above.”
Sean added: “FFA will be pointing out to the Department just how far family farmers across Northern Ireland have come and invested to do their bit on the nutrients front.
“Also, FF will highlight if surplus nutrient use can be eliminated and transferred where it’s needed as follows – Northern Ireland makes good use of all the nutrients available with any surplus being sent back in the empty grain ships leaving Belfast docks for Brazil where the nutrients are needed.
“All of this fits in to a commonsense carbon footprint in relation to accelerated climate change.”
Therefore, the FFa statement concluded that Stormont’s refusal to date to take forward the Northern Ireland Farm Welfare Bill which, if enacted, would return farmers in Northern Ireland a minimum of the true cost of production inflation link plus a margin for their produce is now holding up progress with NAP and must be corrected.
The FFA added that putting the Bill in place would not cost Stormont £1 as the Bill balances with farm support money.
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