Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill will lead a delegation of industry representatives, civil servants, politicians and farmers to Europe to further press the Commission to do more for farmers, primarily through reviewing the intervention price for milk.

Plans for the European visit were revealed yesterday at an emergency meeting of the Agriculture and Rural Development committee at Stormont to discuss current difficulties in the dairy sector.

The exact make-up of the delegation and date of travel has yet to be decided, however it will likely be in early September to coincide with the EU Agriculture Council meeting in Luxembourg on 7 September.

Show of support

While the emergency committee meeting was taking place yesterday, a group of around 200 farmers gathered outside Parliament Buildings as a show of support for farmers giving evidence to the committee, and to raise awareness of the situation the agriculture industry is in.

Speaking inside, Minister O’Neill told the committee that the immediate issue is to make sure Europe recognises the severity of this crisis and responds to it.

Several committee members stated that a unified, single voice was needed to represent and support the industry and that there would be no political point scoring between parties at yesterday’s meeting. However, that was sometimes questionable.

Cash flow

Chris Osbourne, Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), told the meeting that an information event at Greenmount involving local banks, and tailored to help farmers cope with cash flow pressure, will take place on 27 August.

The role of banks was often mentioned, with Dairy UK, the UFU and the minister all stating they have been in contact and will continue to press them to give the best possible service to farmers during this difficult time.

To help cash flow, some have called for early payments of the Basic Payment Scheme this year. However, Minister O’Neill said: “It cannot be done before 1 December, timing is controlled by Europe and I have not the power to change this. I do not believe in raising false expectations.”

Realistic

In his opening statement to the committee, UFU deputy president Barclay Bell acknowledged that many other sectors are under strain currently in Northern Ireland, such as lamb, cereal, vegetable and beef producers.

Members called for redistribution of money within DARD and for a package similar to what the French government offered farmers through tax breaks and extra finance.

However, defending the Minister, Sinn Fein MLA Ian Milne MLA said: “We are not in a position to do that here. The minister has not got a magic wand and cannot change markets, we have to be real and not just look for short-term fixes.”

DEFRA

During her presentation Minister O’Neill was also critical of UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Secretary Liz Truss, stating: “I do not think she understands the problem here.” She also suggested that devolution of more fiscal powers from Westminster to Northern Ireland would allow tax and national insurance contributions to be reviewed for farmers.

Trevor Lockhart from Dairy UK also raised concerns about the attitude of DEFRA, saying: “The DEFRA stance on intervention is nothing new, when we were arguing for it 2008 they were not concerned at that time either. In the UK as a whole, NI is the main exporter - DEFRA are GB-focussed.”

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NI dairy products headed for intervention