Environment, Food and Agriculture Minister Dr Rachel Glover says she will get out to visit farms and talk to the people working them.
It follows the crunch talks held last week between her, Chief Minister Chris Thomas and the Manx National Farmers’ Union.
They were called after the MNFU last month declared it had no confidence in the leadership of the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture.
Glover shared a prepared statement from DEFA on her own Facebook page, adding to it by saying: “I’d just like to reiterate my thanks to the MNFU for facilitating the farm visits that I will be attending over the next few weeks and months.
“I’m very much looking forward to also hearing from farmers themselves about the wider issues.”
When approached yesterday (November 2) to comment on how the talks went last week, Glover told Manx.News that she was waiting to hear back from the MNFU following the meeting and had no comment until that point.
Welcome the Opportunity
Today, a statement was issued by DEFA, in which Glover says: “I welcomed the opportunity to meet with the MNFU and hear directly about the challenges and priorities facing the sector. Agriculture plays a vital role in the Isle of Man’s economy, environment, rural communities and food security.
“We remain committed to maintaining constructive dialogue and working collaboratively with the farming community to support a sustainable and resilient future for Manx agriculture.”
She adds: “I am keen to build on the discussion and identify where practical decisions can be taken quickly, while continuing to work through the wider issues together. I am also looking forward to getting out and about and speaking directly with farmers, which the MNFU is helping to facilitate.”
Manx NFU Concerns
In the letter sent to Chief Minister Chris Thomas and Tynwald members last month, the MNFU argued that confidence in the department had “broken down” following a series of disputes over agricultural funding, food security, livestock imports and market access.
The union said the no confidence decision stemmed from what it described as a lack of understanding of the challenges facing agriculture, poor delivery of strategy, failures in decision-making and an absence of progress on urgent industry issues.
The six-page letter identified a number of concerns, including the island’s BSE risk status divergence with Great Britain, support for local food production, agricultural funding, food security policy, ongoing issues at Isle of Man Meats and difficulties importing breeding stock from Northern Ireland.
