A meeting is to take place between Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir and Finance Minister John O’Dowd about new funding for farm grants.

In a statement published on Tuesday, Minister Muir said additional funding for farm investments will be needed to carry out proposals set out in the Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) review.

“I fully acknowledge that some of the proposed measures in the NAP consultation will of course require investment and officials within my department will consider how we can help meet that funding need,” he said.

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A budget of £12m has already been set aside for helping farmers meet climate change targets, but Minister Muir said more support was needed for “other environmental issues”.

“I am due to meet the Finance Minister to discuss the support we can provide, building upon the £12m plus already secured as part of the Just Transition Fund for Agriculture.”

Analysis by DAERA suggests the proposals contained within the initial NAP consultation will require investment on NI farms of just over £40m.

Most of this cost relates to the purchase of low emission slurry spreading equipment, as the consultation proposes that splash plates be effectively phased out by 2030.

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Update

In his latest update, Minister Muir said the 3,400 responses to the first NAP consultation will be “collated and considered in the coming weeks”.

After that, a group made up of representatives from farming, agri-food and environmental groups, as well as DAERA, will be set up to consider the consultation responses.

Minister Muir said the group will have “an external facilitator” and will be “asked to propose measures and actions that will meet legislative requirements, are evidence based and workable at farm level within realistic timeframes”.

Economic impact assessments are also to be carried out and the group’s findings will be subject to a further eight-week public consultation.

Minister Muir will then make a decision on final proposals for the revised NAP which will be referred to the NI Executive for approval.