§ Mr. Galeasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the progress of the review of Northern Ireland potato support arrangements.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe Government have reviewed the potato support arrangements applying to Northern Ireland and have agreed with the Ulster Farmers' Union on a revision of the existing agreement which was drawn up in 1972. The revised agreement will apply with effect from the 1984 crop. I am arranging for copies of the agreement to be available in the Library of the House.
The new arrangements reflect two factors. First, in introducing the 1982 stockfeed scheme the Government announced that the level of their future commitment to support the Northern Ireland potato market would have to be linked more closely to how the overall level of production matched the available market.
Second, the revised arrangements aim to provide support for producers in Northern Ireland at an appropriate level in relation to support measures in Great Britain, taking into account that Northern Ireland growers do not have their individual areas controlled or contribute towards the cost of support measures, as do their counterparts in Great Britain. The Government will review annually the target prices, target area and tonnage limitation on intervention included in the agreement in the same way that the figures governing support in Great Britain are reviewed.
The new agreement with the Ulster Farmers' Union terminates at the end of the 1989 crop year and it will be reviewed before then. This agreement does not preclude any initiative in the interim from the United Kingdom or Northern Ireland growers for a marketing scheme to apply in Northern Ireland.