Support your local shows, East Londonderry UUP urges community
Robert Carmichael, the East Londonderry Ulster Unionist Party Association Chairman, has said people in the constituency can help with the recovery and rebuilding of the arable crop and sheep industries in particular and the farming industry in general by attending agricultural shows across the Province.
He urged as many people as possible to demonstrate their support by going to forthcoming shows in the county and beyond.
Mr Carmichael drew special attention to the challenges facing the sheep industry in Northern Ireland.
He emphasised how the Northern Ireland Sheep Task Force was frustrated at the Stormont agriculture department “for the lack of progress around future sheep schemes when considering future agriculture policy”.
Presently, he said, farmers in the Province are worse off than their counterparts in the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland in terms of support.
Mr Carmichael stressed that sheep farming is a key part of the agricultural economy and a key element in countryside management to benefit the environment.
And Mr Carmichael also issued an invitation to Stormont Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir “to come to as many of these shows as possible and see at first hand the impressive farming sector in Northern Ireland”.
Mr Carmichael said: “The community has a vital role to play itself in helping Northern Ireland’s much-battered farming industry, especially the arable crop and sheep producers, get back on their feet by using their attendance at these events as a massive show of support for the farmers and a vote of confidence in Northern Ireland especially in these two hard-pressed sectors of farming.”
The East Londonderry UUP Chairman said farming was a major industry in the constituency and it was very important for people to “rally round the local farmers in particular and help with the regeneration of the trade in the region”.
“The agricultural families are at the very heart of local industry in East Londonderry and this is a tremendous opportunity for our constituents to rally round these hard-pressed sectors and give the farming community the boost it radically needs to get on its feet once more.
“Everyone can play their part in this recovery by supporting not just the shows, but also buying local products.
“East Londonderry is largely a rural constituency and we have a moral imperative to do all we can to get this localised industry back up to full strength again.
“I would also call on the Agriculture Minister and his Stormont department to do all in their power to assist this recovery battle,” said Mr Carmichael.