A leading politician has called on Westminster to introduce a fuel subsidy for farmers in Northern Ireland with immediate effect to bolster food security.
Robbie Butler is the chair of Northern Ireland’s Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (AERA) Committee.
He said: “Food security is now a political priority. Farmers are currently battling to cope with the challenge of fast-increasing fuel, fertiliser and fees costs.
“The last thing the economy needs is rampant food inflation kicking in later this year.
“As it turns out, the Treasury is already benefitting from the increases in fuel levies now being paid across the board.
“A proportion of these monies can be paid back to production agriculture in the form of an appropriate fuel subsidy.”
The Lagan Valley-based politician admitted that Westminster cannot, of its own volition, solve the ongoing political problems created by the outbreak of hostilities in the Persian Gulf.
“But London can take steps to mitigate the direct impact of these developments on the farming and food sectors,” he said.
Food security
This week will see the full AERA Committee meet with its counterparts in the Westminster-based Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) grouping at Balmoral Show.
Butler said: “Food security will be high up on the agenda of discussion points for the meeting.”
On a personal level, the AERA Committee chair is committed to ensuring that all farming businesses in Northern Ireland are maintained as sustainable and viable entities into the future.
And this means making the proper supports available for the industry.
He continued: “It is also important to expand the debate on the role of anaerobic digestion within agriculture.
“From my party’s perspective, we see a real opportunity here to take away the fear associated with de-stocking. This threat has been hanging over many farms for quite some time.
“So, it’s important that we move the debate forward in a positive manner. The real opportunity is that of dealing with all farm nutrients in a constructive manner.
“We also need to tie down the issue of food security based on the recognition that agriculture in Northern Ireland can drive exports in a very significant manner.
Butler also linked this to the issue of energy security, or “using our slurry in a different way”.
“All of this represents a tremendous opportunity for local agriculture, particularly when one considers the geopolitical shocks coming our way at the present time,” he said.