Farmers For Action Calls On MLAs To Legislate

The Proposed Farm NI ANC Bill Can’t Work Without NI Farm Welfare Bill Says Farmers For Action

What could be simpler than The NI Assembly passing a bill over the next 12 months to bolster the plight of the ailing farm community in Northern Ireland ?

Farmers For Action have been aware of Stormont Agriculture Committee Deputy Chair Sinn Fein Declan McAleer’s proposed Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) Bill for some time.

Sean McAuley, FFA Steering Committee member, said: “The proposed Bill went off the radar for some time and now it’s back on the agenda as we head towards next years’ May elections. 

“The Bill proposes re-instating support for farmers in Areas of Natural Constraint, however, it is coming under a lot of flack, from the DUP in particular in that the Bill is unfunded and unfair!”

He added: “The FFA always support farmers in ANC areas in particular receiving support which they currently do, but they receive not enough.

“However, the point is that the small amount of money that would come from such a Bill would require farmers to do training courses etc and be treated like school children receiving pocket money at the end of it. 

“The problem is for the small amount of money that would be involved, the conditions won’t warrant the farmers time, nor should it have to!

“The biggest problem is that unless Government was going to deliver new funding, the support money for this Bill will come out of other farmers in Northern Ireland’s pockets, eg cereal farmers who are already receiving the same price for grain as 40 years ago. 

“The key to all of this is for Stormont to take forward the Northern Ireland Farm Welfare Bill (currently with the Agriculture Committee) and the ANC Bill as emergency Bills due to increased fuel costs, increased fertiliser prices, abysmal farm gate prices, IHT, wars and more creating an environment that means farmers can no longer afford to feed the people with the majority of staples!”

“If the Northern Ireland Farm Welfare Bill was enacted, farmers would be paid a minimum of the true cost of production inflation linked plus a margin for their produce across the board. “

Sean added: “The introduction of this Bill wouldn’t cost the Government a penny as support money diminishes and would facilitate – due to its workings the introduction of the small support that an ANC Bill would generate. 

“The upshot of all this is that the ANC Bill can’t work without the NI Farm Welfare Bill in place to make sure that all farmers including ANC farmers are properly paid for their produce.

“There is still time for Stormont in this mandate to pull this off and set Northern Ireland on the path to prosperity – let’s see what our MLA’s are made off and then assess who is worth voting for next May!”