Allister exposes bureaucratic restriction on Farm Shops
02 October 2009
Statement by TUV Leader Jim Allister:
“I have long held the view that the Rural Development Programme which DARD threw together was flawed in many respects, most notably in its lack of funding into Axis 1, but, now, within Axis 3 problems are emerging which undermine the practical worth of some of the measures.
“Farm shops are an important part of farm diversification; yet, it now appears that the farmer who needs essential equipment, like a vacuum sausage filling machine or a tenderiser, to process his own farm produce for sale in the shop cannot attract aid under Axis 3. DARD bureaucracy decrees such should fall under the Processing and Marketing Grant Scheme under Axis 1. Yet, this scheme is intended for factory-scale processing, not incidental processing for a farm shop! So, why is the farmer with a farm shop expected to subject himself to the rigorous and expensive application suited to and intended for a factory? Yet, this is what is happening and, thereby, modest farm shop developments are being thwarted.
“Clearly, there needs to be an urgent rewrite of Axis 3 criteria to allow modest processing and marketing elements within its ambit. Otherwise, vital local enterprise will continue to be stymied. When an enterprising farmer, willing to diversify, is hamstrung by senseless red tape, such as flows from DARD’s drafting of Axis 3 under the Rural Development Programme, then, it is shameful and wrong. I am, therefore, calling for urgent review of the current guidelines.”
