Debate contribution: Agriculture Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Andrew Muir on 3 December 2024.

MLA

Mr Andrew Muir

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

3 December 2024

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Agriculture Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4690880

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

I have brought this short Bill to the Assembly to provide for changes to two legacy EU support schemes, namely the fruit and vegetable aid scheme (FVAS) and the agri-food information and promotion scheme. The schemes have their roots in when the UK was in the EU, and, if they are to reflect post-EU policy development, new powers will be needed. If I may, I will first provide some background. Under the EU common agricultural policy (CAP), the common organisation of the markets in agricultural products regulation (CMO) provided market support tools and aid schemes to certain sectors and encouraged producer cooperation. As part of the CMO, farmers and growers are incentivised to come together to form producer organisations (POs), which allows them to strengthen their position in the supply chain and increase their competitiveness. In addition, POs provide a mechanism for promoting environmentally sound cultivation practices and production techniques, including climate change mitigation. While POs can be set up in a range of sectors, financial assistance is payable in the horticultural sector under the fruit and vegetable aid scheme, which supports the operational programmes that meet the regulatory requirements and fit within a UK strategy and environmental framework. Operational funds are part-financed by contributions from PO members, and, prior to EU exit, match funding came from the EU. Since Brexit, when the governing legislation transferred to UK law in what is now known as "assimilated law", the legal obligation to match-fund eligible claims for POs headquartered in Northern Ireland has, since mid-2020, fallen to DAERA. Before I discuss the need for the Bill, I want to say that locally grown fruit and vegetables play an important role in the rural economy of Northern Ireland. However, it is my firm belief that the sector has the potential to grow and develop further for the benefit of our health, economy, food security and environment, including with respect to the decarbonisation agenda. I am, therefore, committed to fostering the sustainable growth of horticulture as part of our transition to more sustainable agriculture. To that end, my officials are continuing the development of the farm support and development programme in co-design with the Northern Ireland agriculture industry, including the horticulture sector and other key food and environmental stakeholders. Officials are also reviewing existing support under legacy EU schemes, including the FVAS, to evaluate what has been delivered and whether better targeted support could be provided in the future. In addition, I am delighted that the Executive have recently agreed the food strategy framework, which sets the long-term direction to help to position Northern Ireland as the home of sustainable food. Increased availability of locally produced, sustainably grown fruit and vegetables will continue and will contribute to that ambition. I met representatives of the local mushroom sector, which currently avails itself of support under the FVAS, and I sought to reassure them that, while I have not reached any decisions on the way forward, I have no plans to pull the rug from under them when it comes to support. We need to let the current policy review run its course and then carefully consider the way ahead in the context of wider support to the horticulture sector. Without the Bill, my Department will have an ongoing legal obligation to fund eligible claims under the existing legacy FVAS. Members will be aware that the autumn Budget statement will see funding for agriculture, including the FVAS, which was previously earmarked by His Majesty's Treasury, baselined within the resource funding provided to the Executive for 2025-26 and beyond. It will now be for the Executive to agree funding for agriculture as part of the Budget exercise. Therefore, the first thing that this short technical Bill does is make support under the FVAS discretionary so that Executive Ministers have the scope to fully decide on funding priorities and ensure that support is available where it provides best value for money and best meets local needs. Importantly, the second thing that the Bill will do is provide the power to amend the assimilated law governing the FVAS. By its very nature, that unique type of legislation has not kept pace with changes elsewhere, including in the EU, that seek to support productivity while contributing to protecting and enhancing our environment and tackling climate change. Therefore, the new powers will ensure that the scheme can be developed to best meet local need. That has been welcomed by stakeholders, given that it will allow for improvements to the scheme in the future, including its alignment with support elsewhere, if appropriate. The third thing that the Bill will do relates to EU-derived legislation that provides support for information on and promotion of agricultural products. Under the legislation, not-for-profit organisations could apply for EU support for promotional campaigns, primarily in third countries. The aim is to open new market opportunities for farmers and the wider food industry and help them to build their existing businesses and sell products in an increasingly competitive global marketplace whilst delivering jobs and good green growth. While Northern Ireland benefited from the scheme in the past, there are currently no live projects. However, the Bill includes powers so that any future promotion schemes delivered under the legislation could be tailored to best meet local need, subject again to the review of the legacy scheme and future policy development on support for food promotion. Before I discuss the details of the Bill, I thank those who responded to the consultation on the policy proposals earlier this year and those who had ongoing engagement with officials on the wider review. I am grateful to industry representatives for briefing me over recent months on the challenges for the mushroom sector and on the value of the FVAS to that sector. The comments received on the FVAS reflect its importance to the local mushroom sector, with calls for the scheme to continue after the current programmes end in 2025. Stakeholders also detailed the changes that, they believe, should be made to the scheme. While it is vital that I can prioritise funding where it can best be used, I again reassure Members, as I have sought to reassure stakeholders, that I am aware of the importance of the support provided under the scheme over many years. By seeking to make support discretionary, I am not signalling any plans to end support for the sector here; rather, the Bill clearly provides the scope to allow for the scheme's future development so that it can best reflect the needs of Northern Ireland, subject to the outcome of the ongoing review and, of course, the available budget. I look forward to seeing the conclusions of the ongoing review, and I again give my assurance that I will consider it in the context of wider support for the horticulture sector in making future funding decisions. The Bill has therefore been drafted in line with the consultation proposals, and it is my hope that it will reach Royal Assent next spring, before the end of the current programmes.

I now want to take a few minutes to set out in a little more detail the key clauses of the Bill. Clause 1 amends article 32 of the assimilated CMO regulation in order to remove the statutory requirement to fund all eligible FVAS claims. It also provides transitional provisions for existing FVAS programmes. Clause 2 provides that assimilated law governing the FVAS can be modified by regulation and, by virtue of clause 4, only with the approval by resolution of the Assembly, that is, by draft affirmative resolution. Clause 2 also includes an enabling power to make regulations regarding reviews of departmental decisions relating to aid that is necessary as a consequence of support under the FVAS becoming discretionary. Clause 3 provides that the assimilated law governing the agri-food promotion schemes can be modified by regulation, again by virtue of clause 4, by draft affirmative regulations. In summary, the Bill, if enacted, will make support under the FVAS discretionary and empower my Department to amend both the FVAS and agri-food promotion schemes so that they align with post-EU local policy. I commend the Bill to the Assembly.

1,364 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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