Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development
Welcome to the Home Page of the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development. The committee was established to advise and assist the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Michelle O’Neill MLA, on matters within her responsibility as a Minister. The committee undertakes a scrutiny, policy development and consultation role with respect to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and plays a key role in the consideration and development of legislation. The Committee Chairperson is Mr Paul Frew.
The next meeting of the Agriculture Committee will be at 1.30pm on Tuesday 22 May when Members will receive a briefing from Vet NI as part of the Committee’s Review into Bovine TB.
Members will also receive a briefing from Assembly Research detailing the scale of rented farmland in NI and the Department of Agriculture will brief the Committee on Equality Impact Assessment on the Farm Modernisation Programme.
The Assembly’s Agriculture and Rural Development Committee was amongst key stakeholders as it held its weekly meeting at the 2012 Balmoral Show. MEP Jim Nicholson attended the meeting to brief the Committee on a range of important agriculture and rural issues at a European level, including budget, CAP Reform and dairy prices. Pictured before the meeting are: (l-r) Committee Chair, Paul Frew MLA and MEP Jim Nicholson.
As a result of concerns with draft proposals in the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), the Assembly Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development met with local stakeholders to discuss the impact the ‘green’ proposals could have. The proposals aim to benefit the climate and environment by making agriculture more sustainable and by financially rewarding farmers who follow certain agricultural practices. Michael Hamell, Head of the European Commission for the Environment’s Agriculture, Forests and Soil Department presented the proposals at the event which provided an opportunity for the Committee and stakeholders to question and discuss the issues.
We caught up with Committee Chair, Mr Paul Frew to find out more about the event and what impact these proposals will have on the farming and rural communities throughout Northern Ireland.
Read the full press release: Committee Concerned with Impact of 'Green' CAP Proposals