FARMERS For Action met with Alliance Party MLAs recently to discuss the Northern Ireland Farm Welfare Bill ahead of Stormont sitting.
Farmers For Action members William Taylor and Sean McAuley, on behalf of Northern Ireland Farm Groups, were pleased to meet with a number of Alliance’s MLAs, old and new.
They included John Blair, Patrick Brown, Sorcha Eastwood, Patricia O’Lynn and Kate Nicholl.
The group was grateful for the opportunity to bring them up to speed with the Bill and its many purposes, it said.
Mr Blair had a headstart having been on the previous Stormont Agriculture Committee which had scruntised the NI Farm Welfare Bill, thereby helping to prepare it to move forward.
“The Bill, if enacted, would return farmers a minimum of the cost of production plus a margin inflation linked for their produce, it would ensure that farmers would receive their fair share of the food cake, currently mainly divided between corporate food retailers, corporate food wholesalers and corporate and co-op processors,” said Mr McAuley, FFA.
“With food security now ratcheting up across Europe, the timing of this Bill is very appropriate.”
The redistribution of wealth in rural and urban Northern Ireland would result in the creation of 10,000-20,000 jobs, according to the Gosling Report.
In addition, the Bill has a climate change section that would prevent needless imports such as Brazilian beef.
Instead, it aims to have food produced in Northern Ireland used first before any imports.
It would, therefore, contribute towards addressing climate change.
Mr Taylor said that as co-ordinator of NI Farm Groups he was pleased with the interest and enthusiasm shown by the Alliance MLAs.
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