Having sought the agreement of the political parties, and established that there is a public interest, it is understood that DAERA will soon be opening a consultation on the future for agricultural support in NI post Brexit.

The basis of the consultation will be a policy document finalised earlier this year in conjunction with industry stakeholders.

It outlines a vision for agriculture in NI, both in the short-term up to 2022, and in the longer term beyond any Brexit transition period.

The plan for NI agriculture is set against four key themes of increasing productivity, improving resilience, environmental sustainability and an improved supply chain.

Some of the core areas include enhanced farmer education and training, encouraging longer-term leasing of land, and targeting more support at farmers who follow good environmental practice.

To help ensure farmer resilience against swings in prices or weather, the consultation document is expected to discuss the possibility of retaining area-based payments into the long term, but at a much lower level than at present.

Ag bill

Meanwhile, Defra secretary Michael Gove has confirmed during a briefing session for Scotland MSPs, that an Agriculture Bill is to be brought before MPs at Westminster by the end of this month.

The bill will focus on post-Brexit agricultural policy in England, but is expected to contain details of a broader framework for agricultural policy across the UK.

During the briefing session, the Defra Secretary told MSPs that the Scotland share of the UK agriculture budget would be ring-fenced at 16% (the same as it gets from the UK CAP allocation).

However, he suggested that a larger proportion of funds in the future could go to Scotland and NI, given the unique needs of agriculture in those regions.

He also confirmed that it was the British government’s intention to maintain area-based payments to farmers “for a number of years after 2022”.

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