McIlveen outlines vision for arable farming

Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen has commended the arable farming sector’s ability to adapt to change and face challenging times.

Speaking at the fifth Annual Arable Conference, Miss McIlveen said the industry needed to be agile and dynamic going forward.

The conference was jointly organised by the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) and the Ulster Arable Society (UAS). It took place at CAFRE’s Greenmount Campus.

The Minister said: “As one of the most successful and resilient economic sectors in Northern Ireland, agri-food remains one of our largest manufacturing industries accounting for 25% of Northern Ireland manufacturing exports and directly employing 14% of the manufacturing workforce.

“The arable industry in Northern Ireland makes a significant contribution to our local economy.  Almost 2,855 Northern Ireland farms produce arable crops on 36,000 hectares and these crops currently account for 3.5% of Northern Ireland’s Gross Agricultural Output with a value of over £56million.

“The industry faces many on-going challenges but I believe that the today’s conference demonstrates that the arable sector has the capability to adapt to change and meet these challenges. Today’s event has shown the progressiveness of farmers and growers in the arable sector and their willingness to develop knowledge, technology and skills which will help to improve farm business efficiency, sustainability and productivity."

The conference – which was titled Adapting to Chance - focused on technical and business issues directly related to the arable sector. An audience of over 200 attendees comprising of farmers, advisers, researchers, trade representatives and other interested parties were present. 

The Minister also spoke about Brexit, addressing the challenges and opportunities it presents.

Miss McIlveen said: "My long-term aim for the industry in Northern Ireland is to promote a sustainable, competitive, high performing, knowledge based agri-food sector that is prosperous. That means the sector will have to become more resilient to shocks and challenges, have high standards of animal and plant health, deliver for the environment and have increased market access.

“I believe a policy framework can be developed that can deliver on the twin objectives of improving the productivity of farming as well as improving its environmental sustainability.

“I would like to encourage farmers and growers in the arable sector to share my vision for a profitable, efficient and sustainable industry. Adapting to change, and improving production efficiency, will improve the technical performance of arable systems and lower the cost of production. It will also help to meet broader sustainability objectives and deliver better environmental outcomes.

“There is no doubt that the agriculture industry is entering a time of unprecedented change. However, working in partnership to develop knowledge, technology, technical efficiency and business awareness is fundamental to the future of the arable sector.”

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