AQW 24236/17-22

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 13/10/2021
Answered On Date: 29/10/2021
Priority Written: Yes

Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, in the context of labour shortages, what compensation will be offered to farmers who have been forced to cull livestock to increase accommodation.

Answer:

I recognise the problems that a shortage of labour in the processing sector is having on pig farms. I met recently with stakeholder organisations and representatives to discuss the actions that can be taken to reduce the backlog of pigs on farm and asked them to present a sustainable long term plan to rebalance production and processing, and bring stability to the market.

The UK Government have recently announced that the Seasonal Agricultural Workers (SAW) scheme is being extended further in coverage to allow 800 butchers to come to the UK to work in pork processing plants for a period of 6 months. While this is helpful, it falls well short of what is needed to alleviate severe labour shortages in the pork sector.

A livestock cull is very much a last resort, and we need to do all that we can to avoid that possibility. My Department will continue to closely monitor the situation in the pig sector and work closely with producers and processors to find a solution.