Debate contribution: Farmers' Basic Payment Scheme

Debate contribution by Mr Declan McAleer on 7 October 2024.

MLA

Mr Declan McAleer

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

7 October 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Farmers' Basic Payment Scheme

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4579701

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

I welcome the opportunity to debate the motion this evening on the farmers' basic payment scheme. Our farmers are grappling with some of the greatest challenges they have ever faced. Among them are Brexit, climate change and animal diseases. On top of those, the rising cost of production and reforms to agriculture policy are stretching our farming communities to the limit. Local farmers play their part in global food security, particularly for countries that are not self-sufficient. In this context, our farmers are not just local producers; they contribute to the wider European and global food chain, as well as being custodians of the countryside. Global food consumption is projected to increase by 1·4% over the next decade, driven by population growth. This is not the time to cut funding or reduce our commitment to agriculture. On the contrary, we need to invest in the future of farming to ensure food security at home and abroad. Thriving rural communities are essential for our wider economy, and agriculture is the backbone of those communities. Over 80% of farms in the North are small-scale, but we cannot assume that the end of direct payments would only impact on small farmers; it would devastate the entire sector. Research from Queen's University suggests that, without direct support, we could see the collapse of 30% of our farms. For the over 25,000 farm businesses here, the loss of direct payments could be catastrophic, threatening sustainable farming practices and the livelihoods of thousands of people. With approximately one million hectares of farmland, primarily grassland, we have the unique ability to convert grass into protein, thanks to our ruminant livestock. In the North, 75% of land is classified as less-favoured areas (LFA), which is unsuitable for growing crops but is perfectly suited for grazing livestock. That natural resource should be protected and maximised, but the current uncertainty threatens the industry. The basic payment scheme, known to many as the "single farm payment", is crucial to the rural economy. It provides direct financial support to farmers and has a multiplier effect throughout the local economy. It stabilises farm incomes, enabling farmers to maintain or increase production, helps to keep the land in good environmental condition and boosts demand for agricultural input, such as machinery, seeds and fuel. That increased spending power supports local businesses, services and jobs in agriculture-related sectors like transport, processing and agri-tech. Additionally, the basic payment scheme allows farmers to invest in farm infrastructure, further benefiting industries like construction. Overall, the basic payment scheme is central to sustained growth and economic resilience in rural and non-rural areas. Under the guise of austerity and post-Brexit policies, we see a systematic undermining of our agriculture sector. Direct payments from the European Union that represented over 80% of farm income provided long-term security and enabled farmers to produce safe, nutritious and affordable food whilst caring for the countryside. The South of Ireland, by contrast, has continued to invest heavily in agriculture, increasing payments for areas of natural constraint, whilst, in the North, we do not have such vital supports, which puts our farmers at a distinct disadvantage. With Brexit, we face a declining Budget, and the British Government have yet to provide any clarity on whether there will be a ring-fenced commitment to agriculture similar to the EU's common agricultural policy.

We eagerly anticipate the Chancellor's Budget announcement on 30 October, which is expected to shed light on the funding that will be available. It is crucial that the Minister promptly assesses the implications of that funding for our agriculture sector and ensures that it aligns with our goal for sustainable development and a just transition. I welcome the fact that the Minister is with us in the Assembly this evening. We need a robust, long-term commitment to agriculture, similar to pillar 1 and pillar 2 of the common agricultural policy. It is our duty to fight for that in the upcoming spending review. We must secure the future of farming in the North for the good of our rural communities, our environment and our collective food industry. Sinn Féin supports both amendments. We support the DUP's call for a:

"ring-fenced, inflation-proof and multi-annual farm support and development budget".

The SDLP amendment — amendment No 1 — helpfully includes the need for a separate, ring-fenced pillar 2 scheme. As we know, pre Brexit, CAP pillar 2, which was also known as the rural development programme, provided funding for agrienvironment schemes and the farm business improvement scheme as well as social and economic development programmes through the local action groups. In the current post-Brexit arrangement, there is only one farm budget envelope available — there is no pillar 2 — but all the schemes proposed in the new farm policy will be modulated out of the basic payment scheme, which will reduce the value of farmers' entitlements. All of that is in the context of no overall clarity from the British Government on the Budget. While we support both amendments, I understand that the SDLP amendment will be voted on first and if it is passed, the DUP amendment will not be voted on. The Speaker will keep me right on that. I am certainly not going to pre-empt how Members will vote. The Assembly must ensure that farm support continues so that our farmers, who are the custodians of our countryside, can continue to feed people and contribute to the global food supply. I look forward to the debate.

915 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:23 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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