DEFRA Secretary of State Andrea Leadsom has visited Northern Ireland for a day of engagements focused on the agri-food sector.

Accompanied by the province's Minister of Agriculture, Michelle McIlveen, Ms Leadsom met farmers, processors and agri-food industry representatives to discuss the impact of, and the opportunities that will arise from, the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.

The two ministers’ first engagement was to the Comber farm of James and Biffy Booth,who run a 220-hectare business farming beef and vegetables. They then moved on to Lakeland Dairies in Newtownards where they toured the family-owned co-operative, which collects milk from over 2200 family farms and is one of the largest on the island of Ireland.

Ms McIlveen said: “I was delighted to welcome the Secretary of State to Northern Ireland. I was proud to showcase a couple of our many great producers and processors who are at the heart of our agri-food industry.

“Future trade and support arrangements are going to be extremely important. Rather than contemplating the possibility of new barriers to trade, we should be striving to retain current access arrangements in the short term and create new export opportunities in the longer term. A significant amount of work is under way to progress my priorities which are to ensure we replace the Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy with appropriate frameworks that underpin the sustainable growth and competitiveness of our sectors and to safeguard our continued ability to trade effectively.

“That is why it was important that I was able to emphasise to the Secretary of State that our agri-food sector is much more central to our local economy than is the case in other parts of the country," said Ms McIlveen. “The Executive’s aim is to promote a sustainable, competitive, high-performing, knowledge-based agri-food sector that is prosperous and compliant. That means the sector will be more resilient to shocks and challenges; it will have higher standards of animal health and welfare; it will deliver better for the environment; and have increased market access for agri-food products.”

Ms Leadsom commented: “Food and drink is the leading sector in the Northern Ireland economy, employing tens of thousands of people and generating around £5billion from food sales alone this year. Throughout the process of preparing the UK to leave the EU we will work with all the devolved administrations so the interests of every part of the country are properly taken into account. Their knowledge and experience will be vital in helping draw up our plans.

“Leaving the EU will be a new chapter, and there will be challenges, but there are also huge opportunities. We are determined to get the best deal possible and deliver a thriving future for our important food and farming industry that is profitable, innovative and resilient.”