Conservation charity RSPB NI has warned that the Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS), worth £100m to local landowners, must be approved by the Department of Finance before the NI Assembly closes for business on the 26 January 2017.

The scheme is due to open next month, but at the arable conference at Greenmount last week Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen acknowledged that her department is still waiting on finance approval.

According to the RSPB, if this is not given, nature protection in NI will take a major backward step, resulting in once-common bird species disappearing from the landscape.

The EFS is designed to encourage landowners to protect and enhance the environment on their farmland.

Funding for farmers

Landowners will be funded to put in place measures that will support threatened breeding wader species, such as curlew and lapwing, seed eating species such as yellowhammer and linnet and important habitats like peatland.

John Martin, conservation team leader at RSPB NI, said “Agri-environment funding is the only source of public money that is improving the sustainability of the wider countryside.

“This scheme has already faced several stumbling blocks, and it’s vital it gets over this current hurdle before it is too late.

“The current situation is unacceptable, unsustainable and flies in the face of all the hard work many farmers have been doing,” stressed Martin.

Clock ticking on £100m agri-environment scheme

The RSPB in NI has expressed concern that the stalemate at Stormont could result in further delays to the roll-out of the Environmental Farming Scheme in NI.