Northern Ireland dairy sector calls for investment and planning reform

The Dairy Council for Northern Ireland acts on behalf of dairy farmers and processors and together we account for over 90% of the milk produced and processed in Northern Ireland.

Entitled ‘A Pathway to Success’, the manifesto sets out the action needed to strengthen the sector’s competitiveness, support sustainable investment, and provide greater certainty for businesses across the province.

It states that meeting growing global demand for milk and dairy products will require coordinated legislative and policy framework across government departments. This would enable economic growth while allowing family farms and local dairy processors to continue improving production levels sustainably and be supported by a skilled and data driven agrifoods sector.

The manifesto highlights that Northern Ireland dairy exports account for over 43% of all local food and drink export sales outside the UK. In addition, over 800m litres of raw milk are sold to EU member states generating over £300m.

It also states that Northern Ireland dairy processors receive “significantly less” capital grant funding than counterparts operating in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

This is despite the sector producing one-sixth of the UK’s milk supply. With the UK and Ireland populations forecast to grow by two million by 2030, the manifesto argues that self-sufficiency and local production will become increasingly important.

It is therefore calling for the Department for the Economy to provide direct capital grant support to the sector so its processing facilities can continue to make investments that will drive prosperity, unlock wage growth and ensure it remains at the forefront of Northern Ireland manufacturing.

The manifesto also said that dairy farms need to be able to plan for the future, including the ability to invest in infrastructure such as improved animal housing and slurry storage. It argues that the risk-averse planning and approval processes are preventing such investment and is calling for a revision of planning policy.

On the circular economy, the manifesto is also calling for a strategic approach to sustainability that ensures the agrifood sector is included in future strategies and support schemes to ensure farmers and processors are properly recognised for the role they play in a sustainable circular economy.

The organisation has also called for a policy that helps attracts workers to dairy farming and careers in the wider supply chain, adopts new technologies to drive innovation and efficiencies and supports a policy environment that keeps agricultural land for food production.

The Dairy Council represents dairy farmers and processors across Northern Ireland, together accounting for more than 90% of milk produced and processed locally.

Northern Ireland’s dairy produce is consumed in more than 80 countries, with local dairy exports accounting for over 43% of all NI food and drink export sales outside the UK.

“The dairy sector is a major contributor to the economy of Northern Ireland generating close to £2bn of annual sales revenue with over 3,000 farming families and 2,300 processor employees directly engaged in the sector," said Ian Stevenson, CEO of the Dairy Council.

“Our sector is renowned for the quality of milk that is produced all year round on farms throughout Northern Ireland and the dairy products that are made from that milk are valued by customers in every market that our processors supply.”

He added: “As a sector, we cannot afford to stand still so we will continue to need deploying cutting-edge innovations and technology along the value chain and we would encourage our MLAs and Executive Ministers to encourage and support the sustainable development of one of our most important domestic industries in Northern Ireland”.