Debate contribution: Areas with Natural Constraints (Payments) Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Declan McAleer on 23 March 2026.

MLA

Mr Declan McAleer

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

23 March 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Areas with Natural Constraints (Payments) Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5465307

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

I welcome the opportunity to outline the key elements of the Areas with Natural Constraints (Payments) Bill at Second Stage. At its core, it is a straightforward but important Bill. It places a statutory duty on the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to make regulations governing payments for areas with natural constraints (ANC) under powers in the Agriculture Act 2020. Its purpose is clear: to secure ongoing financial support for farmers in areas where natural conditions limit agricultural activity; to provide legal certainty and continuity of support schemes; and to ensure that payments are maintained and updated annually in line with inflation. Those areas face structural disadvantages, including poor soils, shorter growing seasons and challenging terrain. ANC payments, therefore, play a vital role in sustaining active farming, supporting rural communities and maintaining responsible land management. The Bill contains two clauses. Clause 1 places a duty on the Department to make regulations within 12 months of commencement. It also requires that payments must be no less generous than those provided under the Areas of Natural Constraint Regulations 2018 and that payments must be updated annually and, at least, in line with the consumer price index. That would ensure continuity, fairness and predictability for farm businesses. Clause 2 provides standard legislative provisions. The Act would come into operation on the day after Royal Assent and may be cited as the Areas with Natural Constraints (Payments) Act (Northern Ireland) 2026. As a small farmer, I declare an interest in this and other farming items. In my constituency of West Tyrone, almost 60% of land is classified as "severely disadvantaged". Over 90% of land in Fermanagh is disadvantaged land. The figure is over 50% for the East Derry constituency and over 60% for East Antrim. Those figures underline the scale of the challenge that faces our rural communities. Farming operates under a significant regulatory burden. Farmers must comply with cross-compliance requirements; machinery and safety standards; farm quality assurance schemes; Food Standards Agency (FSA) inspections; and unannounced checks. They also meet high standards in animal health and environmental protection. Those obligations increase cost and complexity, particularly in marginal areas. ANC payments, therefore, play an important role in helping to offset additional costs where production margins are already extremely tight. Claims that an ANC scheme is not good value for money must be assessed against the full cost of removal, including the wider consequences of losing active land management and environmentally sensitive farming practices, and the associated social and economic impacts on rural communities. The evidence is clear: over the past decade, output from ANCs has been in steady decline. If that trend continues unchecked, the consequences will stretch far beyond upland farms and will, ultimately, threaten the long-term sustainability of the red meat sector in the North. Figures from the 2025 DAERA census paint a stark picture: the number of beef cattle has fallen by 21% over the past 10 years, with a particularly sharp decline since 2018-19, when the ANC scheme was discontinued. The North now has its lowest beef cattle numbers in 55 years. During consultation on the Bill, many stakeholders pointed to the end of the ANC payment as a contributing factor to that trend. The importance of ANCs to the wider agricultural economy must not be understated. Of the North's 213,000 beef cattle, almost 100,000 are in severely disadvantaged areas (SDAs) or ANCs, and 64,000 are in disadvantaged land. In total, around three quarters of the region's essential breeding beef stock are in less-favoured areas (LFAs). The same is true for sheep farming. Of the North's 1·8 million sheep, over 1 million are in ANCs, with a further 400,000 in disadvantaged areas (DAs). Those flocks and herds are critical breeding stock that provides a vital supply chain for lowland farmers, who rely on upland producers to supply cattle and lambs for finishing. Farming is an integrated ecosystem in which all parts rely on one another. Recent livestock trends underline the scale of the challenge. Over the past year alone, the total number of beef cattle has decreased by 5%, and sheep numbers have fallen by 7%. The sectors that dominate marginal land — beef and sheep — are precisely those that are experiencing the greatest decline. Farmers have told us that switching to alternative enterprises simply is not realistic in ANCs. The land, terrain and climate limit what can be produced. The DAERA census highlights that. Across the entire North, there are only 10 cereal farmers in ANCs. When set against the public goods that ANCs deliver — landscape stewardship, biodiversity protection, flood mitigation and community resilience — the scheme represents a prudent and preventative public investment. There are also compelling environmental and ecological reasons to support farming in upland areas. Abandoned and overgrown land does not support biodiversity and increases the risk of wildfires during dry spells. In short, not doing the scheme represents a higher cost when it comes to environmental management and farm sustainability than investing in an ANC scheme. The Department previously suggested that redistribution of the former pillar 1 payments could replace ANC support. However, I strongly feel that that suggestion does not stand up to scrutiny. The former pillar 1 adjustments could not replicate the targeted support that farms operating under severe natural constraints need. Many of those holdings face higher unit costs, lower yields and limited enterprise options due to soil quality, slopes and climate. The partial redistribution of area-based payments did not address those structural disadvantages or the additional cost of managing marginal land. It is also important to recognise that the previous trajectory of convergence was halted in 2020, removing a planned mechanism intended to smooth the transition for the most marginal farms. As a result, many farms are still exposed. If we are serious about sustaining rural livelihoods and active land management, we require a targeted funding approach that reflects the real costs of farming in our most disadvantaged areas. The financial pressures are there for all to see. The farm business data for 2023-24 illustrates that farms in less-favoured areas, which include severely disadvantaged areas such as ANCs and disadvantaged land, recorded an average loss of more than £10,000. Remove direct support payments, and that loss deepens to around £17,000. Supporting ANCs is not only an agricultural intervention but an equality and community safeguard that protects families, skills and the social fabric of our most fragile rural areas. The Bill is not only about financial assistance but about rural stability and environmental stewardship. For many households, ANC payments were a critical part of total income and provided the stability needed to remain in production, invest in their businesses and support local economies. Such targeted investment in disadvantaged areas has existed since the UK Agriculture Act 1947, and, today, Scotland and the South of Ireland continue to have ANC schemes. It is also important to be clear that the Bill creates a statutory duty to make regulations. It does not allocate funding. Funding mechanisms remain a matter for the Department and can be addressed through the appropriate budgetary routes, including reallocations, Barnett consequentials or transitional arrangements.

The delivery of a statutory scheme requires political will and prioritisation. With regard to farm support, I stress that the ring-fenced agriculture budget exists to provide stability and resilience for farm businesses. This is already overstretched due to a 17% cut to fund other schemes. Any further diversion of funds from that scheme will undermine that certainty. The ANC scheme is intended to complement existing supports, not to replace or compete with them. Crucially, transparency and accountability will be built into the process. Draft regulations that will follow on from the legislation will be accompanied by full financial assessments, be subject to Assembly scrutiny via affirmative resolution procedure and be informed by a statutory public consultation in which farmers and rural stakeholders will have a say. The Bill creates a legal framework to establish the scheme. The Bill provides the necessary legal framework to give vital support to farmers in areas of natural constraint, and it promotes rural viability, environmental stewardship and economic fairness. It gives the Department the duty and clarity to act. Most important, it recognises a simple truth: farming land is not equal, and policy must reflect that reality if we are serious about sustaining agricultural communities and the environment in our most challenging landscapes. I commend the Bill to the Assembly.

1,407 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:06 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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