New farm minister for Northern Ireland has ‘work to do’

Finding a sensible balance between food production and the environment will be the priority for new Northern Ireland agriculture minister Andrew Muir, who takes on the role following the reinstatement of active government at Stormont last weekend.

Mr Muir, who is an Alliance Party MLA from Bangor in County Down, was appointed to the role at the start of the week.

He is also the party’s chief whip, and has a strong business background, having served on public accounts and infrastructure committees. He has no previous experience of agriculture.

See also: NI farmers show approval as new support policy takes shape

In a first interview with BBC Radio Ulster he said he was “ecstatic” at the appointment and would focus on delivering for the environment and agriculture, as well as pushing for a decent budget for his new department.

“We need to foster a culture of partnership and engagement,” he said. “Climate change is something that we should do together, rather than against people.”

Pressure

The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has welcomed the return of a dedicated agriculture minister after two years in limbo.

UFU president David Brown said Mr Muir was taking up the role at a time when the industry was under extreme financial pressure.

He urged the new minister to prioritise local food security to help safeguard NI’s agri-industry.

“Considerable uncertainty lies ahead for our industry and the new minister has plenty of challenges on his plate,” said Mr Brown.

“The UFU will be expressing the need to roll out future direct farm support measures and the need to include sheep, decisions on wildlife intervention in a TB eradication programme, and the need for clarity around ammonia controls and planning.”

Post-Brexit support

The union will be keen to see progress in developing new post-Brexit support polices for Northern Ireland agriculture.

Just before the collapse of power sharing in 2022, the previous agriculture minister, Edwin Poots, had just completed a  “Future agricultural policy proposals for Northern Ireland” consultation.

This had set out plans for “safety net” area payments, headage payments for beef, and a new “nature package” with bespoke agri-environment schemes which, over time, would become the “central plank” of support in NI.