UUP ‘cautiously’ welcomes revised NI NAP
The Ulster Unionists Party (UUP) has “cautiously welcomed” the revised Northern Ireland Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) released for public consultation.
The party added that that responsibility for delivering it now rests "squarely" with Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Minister Andrew Muir.
UUP agriculture spokesperson and chair of the Northern Ieeland Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (AERA) Committee Robbie Butler said: "A year ago, I called for the original NAP consultation to be withdrawn.
“Those proposals were rushed, poorly evidenced and undeliverable, with independent analysis commissioned by the Ulster Farmers' Union putting their cost at over £1.56 billion a year.”
The NAP is a comprehensive set of regulations that dictate agricultural practices to manage animal manure, chemical fertilisers, and nutrient loads to protect water bodies from agricultural pollution.
The proposals for the revised NAP for 2027-2030 were co-designed by the NAP Stakeholder Task and Finish Group, which includes stakeholders drawn from a broad range of expertise, including farming, environmental organisations, agri-food industry and the DAERA.
A comprehensive framework document will be the focal point of a 10-week NAP public consultation launched yesterday (Monday, June 29)
‘Partners’
Referring to the original NAP, Butler said: “I argued then that farmers had to be partners, not passengers, and that real change could only come through co-design.
“That is exactly what this independently chaired stakeholder process has delivered, and I pay tribute to the Ulster Farmers Union and every organisation that did the hard work.”
Butler added that the backdrop to this should be remembered.
“These proposals landed at the very moment the Ulster Farmers' Union passed an unprecedented vote of no confidence in Minister Muir's department, and as the Labour Government's family farm tax was piling further pressure on farm families.
“Trust between farmers, the department and government had reached rock bottom. That is why this revised programme matters.
“It is the step forward that everyone, on all sides, badly needs," he said.
According to Butler, many of the “most damaging measures” of the NAP have been removed or rewritten.
He said: “We have moved from blunt, universal rules to a targeted, phased and workable approach.
“As the union itself says, it is not perfect, but it is a world away from where we started.”
Package
Butler stressed that this moment is “not the finish line” and farmers must not be left to carry it alone.
He added: “The report is clear that agriculture is only one source of the problem.
"Northern Ireland Water, wastewater, septic tanks and industry must face the same urgency that has been demanded of farming.
"Just as importantly, much of this package cannot be delivered without the minister playing his part.”
According to Butler, the headline target to cut the phosphorus surplus depends on building manure processing and export infrastructure that does not yet exist at scale.
He said: “The expansion of low-emission slurry equipment depends on proper funding through the Sustainable Farming Investment Scheme.
“The whole programme is also conditional on real progress on ammonia policy and on unblocking a planning system that is holding back farm investment.
“Farmers cannot be held to targets they have no means of meeting.”
The UUP agriculture spokesperson called on DAERA tp publish the economic impact assessment in full, so that farmers "can see exactly what these revised measures will mean for their businesses".
He added that where measures are to be reviewed after two years, farmers need certainty and support behind them, not the "threat of tougher regulation".
Butler said: "The Ulster Unionist Party will engage with stakeholders and industry to scrutinise these proposals in detail, safeguarding both the agri-food sector and our environment."
