The importance of the dairy sector in Northern Ireland has been spelled out by the Agriculture Minister, Michelle O’Neill this week, saying it accounted for 41 per cent of gross agricultural output and contributed to a gross turnover of £1bn employing over 2,000 people in the processing side.

She made the point to the Assembly this week as she again asked the European Commission to offer greater and immediate support to Northern Ireland’s dairy sector.

If there are any delays, she said, farmers would simply go out of business.

She said the dairy sector had much less impact across the EU where the equivalent figure for gross agricultural ouput was just 15 per cent.

She said while she was optimistic for the future she remained concerned about the impact of the current crisis on dairy farmers and their families.

Commenting on the recent measures announced at the Special Agriculture Meeting in Brussels on September 7, Minister O’Neill said: “The current dairy crisis, caused largely by global factors, is outside our control. We need effective and immediate EU action to address the very damaging consequences of this situation - any further delay will see many farmers go out of business.

“There appears to be little new thinking in the recent package announced by the Commission, which falls short of the immediate meaningful action I have been pushing for.

“I have real concerns that €500million will not go very far across 28 Member States and that the funding we will eventually receive is not targeted at our unique and specific needs in the north. I have therefore written to Commissioner Hogan seeking urgent clarification on how our Member State envelope will support our farmers.

“Our local industry representatives throughout the dairy supply chain have called for a significant increase in the intervention price and I have strenuously supported that call.

“I believe we now need to examine the intervention system and assess whether it adequately fulfils the role of providing an effective safety net, especially given that the current intervention rate was set 12 years ago. I will continue to urge the Commission to use the full range of tools at its disposal.” The Minister also updates members of the Assembly’s Agricultural Committee paying tribute to the dairy sector for the particularly important contribution it makes to the local economy.

On the growing agri-food sector and the significant contribution it makes to our local economy Minister O’Neill added: “I have always been a champion of our agri-food sector which continues to be a significant growth sector for the local economy with turnover in the food and drinks industry heading towards £5billion.

“Recent statistics also show an increase in employment of 5% as well as increased exports of more than 7%. Clearly, we will not continue to have a thriving food sector if we do not have a thriving farm sector and that is a challenge for us going forward.” DARD’s dairy advisers have been holding workshops and training events dealign with specific issues of cost control, technical efficiency, benchmarking and business management.