Northern Ireland farming inheritance crisis: UUP's Lord Elliott

In Thursday’s debate UUP peer Lord Elliott said: “I have to ask the question: what do this Government want from agriculture and farming? Do they want farmers who have the countryside at heart, who want to do the best for the environment, and who want to produce food of good quality and with good environmental standards?

"Or do they want those smallholdings to be bought up by big institutions and large landowners, with no interest in farming and agriculture, buying produce from countries that do not have the same standards as we do in the United Kingdom?

He added: “If the Government’s intention is to bring about the better movement of farms and land, which other people will have the opportunity to purchase, they are doing exactly the opposite.

"Instead, they are going to force small family farms, or parts of them, to be sold and bought up by big institutions or people who have no interest in agriculture or producing food for the nation of the United Kingdom."

The peer said many many farmers are so dedicated that they go out to provide food and water for their livestock every morning before eating their own breakfast.

Such farms are not small businesses that are only a few years old, he said.

“It is a way of life, which contributes significantly to this economy and this community. Let it go at your peril”.