Farmers stand ready amid fears over food shortage – UFU

THE ongoing war in Ukraine could cause significant cash flow problems in farms in the North, the UFU has warned.

Last week, the Ulster Farmers’ Union met with the Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots MLA, to discuss the impacts of the conflict and how it is affecting food supply chains.

“The UFU called for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to put contingency plans in place and establish a NI agriculture task force to address the impact that Russia’s invasion in Ukraine is having on global supplies. We’re pleased at how quickly Minster Poots met with us following this,” said UFU president Victor Chestnutt.

“We had discussions with DAERA on the importance of the middleman taking responsibility and that not all of the input price increases need to borne by the primary producer. It’s very clear that we are in a crisis now in terms of energy and fuels, and the big issue going forward will be cash flows on farm. The war has also stressed the importance and fragility of food security, both at home and abroad. We farmers stand ready to do all we can to ensure the public continues to have access to high-quality, affordable, climate-friendly food when they need it.”

Mr Chestnutt added, “There are some clear short and long-term actions that government can take.. we have shared these with government and want to stress that we’re ready to take these forward together, to navigate the extreme volatility we see today, and which is expected to grow in the coming months.”