There will be no radical change to farm support schemes in NI within a short timeframe, DAERA Minister Edwin Poots has said.

“Proper consultation is vital and as such, new schemes take time to develop and implement,” the minister told Stormont’s agriculture committee last Thursday.

During the briefing with MLAs, Minister Poots reiterated that an area-based payment will be part of future farm support, but at lower levels than the current Basic Payment Scheme.

The DUP politician is also keen to introduce coupled payments for the suckler and sheep sectors. It remains unclear when exactly these schemes will be rolled out, but the minister indicated that coupled support could be available next year.

Decisions

“We will need this year to work things through and hopefully people will know where they stand at the end of this year as they seek to make decisions for the 2022 financial year,” he said.

However, Minister Poots made clear that the 2021 scheme year will not be used a historic reference year for future farm support schemes in NI.

“It isn’t our intention to use things in this particular year, which will then lock people into circumstances for many years to come,” he told MLAs.

Sinn Fein MLA and committee chairman, Declan McAleer, said some landowners have held off agreeing conacre arrangements due to uncertainty around future schemes.

“My advice to farmers and landowners is to proceed and do what’s right for them in the year 2021 and not to be trying to second guess things for future years,” Minister Poots responded.

“If people previously let land and, if that is something that they want to keep doing, that is something that they should continue to do,” he added.