The agri-food sector is to receive £25 million emergency Covid-19 funding from the Department of Finance.

This money is part of an overall package from the UK government in response to the pandemic and announced this week by Minister for Finance, Conor Murphy.

Those involved in agriculture and horticulture have been adversely affected by the pandemic with many businesses struggling to survive.

The funding is expected to go some way to helping to address the problems the pandemic has created for the sector.

One spokesperson stated; “It is important this money goes to those who need it most at this difficult time and I will be making that clear to the Agriculture Minister and Departmental officials so that the full benefit of this significant funding announcement can be felt where it matters most.”

The UFU president, Ivor Ferguson, welcoming the scheme said; “Our farmers will be glad to hear that £25m has been allocated to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) for Northern Ireland’s agri-food industry. This is a successful outcome for the UFU as we have been lobbying DAERA Minister Edwin Poots, on behalf of our members to gain support for farming families since the COVID-19 outbreak began and are pleased that he has taken our requests on board.

“Minister Poots has displayed a strong understanding for the needs of our farmers at this difficult time and now we urge DAERA to try and seek extra funding for our farmers.

“We would also ask DAERA to get discussions with industry stakeholders underway as soon as possible. This is vital as DAERA is responsible for allocating the support appropriately between agriculture commodities ensuring that individual farm businesses in Northern Ireland can benefit from this package,” he said.

Milk prices have suffered as a result of the collapse of the hospitality industry and airlines not flying and beef prices were at their lowest for decades as the pandemic took hold in Northern Ireland.

While beef prices have since recovered, many beef farmers had had their incomes greatly affected this year.

The biggest problem has been the lack of outlets such as hotels and restaurants opening for business during the pandemic. These establishments purchase huge amounts of dairy products and meat products and this was not made up by the fact that householders were cooking at home more than normal.

Farmers have also been eligible to apply for the Self-Employed Support Scheme which will help meet some of the gap in earnings during recent months.