Help Local Farmers sell more Home Produce, urges Coulter
Rev Dr Robert Coulter, the North Antrim Ulster Unionist Assembly candidate, says any new legislative Assembly has “a moral duty” to implement a plan of action which helps local farmers sell more of their Ulster-produced goods in the Province’s shops.
Dr Coulter said: “A local Assembly must think and act local, especially for the benefit of our hard-pressed farming community.
“If a legislative Assembly is to truly help the Northern Ireland agricultural sector get back on its feet both financially and in terms of job security, then MLAs have a moral duty to answer the question – given the amount of overseas produce in Ulster shops, how much and how many specific products could be supplied by our local farmers for a fair price?
“It is imperative the future Assembly fully investigates the controversial issue of so-called ‘food miles’. This is where products are imported from around the globe and are transported many miles before reaching the Ulster shop shelves.
“What is urgently required to rebuild our once mighty agricultural sector is to ensure that foreign imported food is subjected to the same legislation as the food safety standards for Ulster-produced commodities.
“For more than a decade, many Ulster farmers found themselves isolated and financially crippled because of the European beef ban sparked by the BSE crisis.
“However, any future Assembly must equally ask serious questions about potential health risks from food being imported into Northern Ireland from abroad.
“Ulster farmers have built an impressive record in produce safety and food hygiene. It is only morally just that a fully legislative, power-sharing Executive puts Ulster’s farmers first by encouraging the Province’s shoppers to buy local first,” said Dr Coulter.