In recent debates and commentary around proposed changes to the Nutrients Action Programme (NAP), the 2013 Going for Growth Strategy is often cited as being as a crucial factor to deteriorating water quality in NI and in particular, blue green algae in Lough Neagh. Produced by a high-level group appointed by the then Agriculture and Enterprise Ministers, Michelle O’Neill and Arlene Foster, the Going for Growth report set out ambitious plans to create a larger and more export driven agri-food sector.

Those involved put in a lot of time and effort and while some notable things were achieved, the two main asks were not delivered by government/industry.

Those asks involved setting up a marketing body to promote NI agri-food and a £250m grant scheme to drive efficiency on farms.

Of course, other issues such as Brexit got in the way, but in the end, various 2020 targets were not met, including plans to add value and grow total sales to £7bn. Actual sales in 2020 were £5.4bn.

Farm output

Although various targets weren’t achieved, there has been growth in farm output since 2013. However, in reality, much of it would have happened anyway and it is driven by market forces and other pressures, not high level reports.

For example, the poultry industry has grown considerably in NI, but the main expansion is in eggs, not broilers and is due to a general shortage of supply across Europe.

The egg sector only got a very fleeting mention in the 2013 report.

In grazing, livestock, numbers have remained fairly steady in recent years, however, there are more dairy cows at the expense of sucklers and a move towards more intensive dairy production involving containment systems.

None of that was envisaged in the Going for Growth report. Instead, it reflects economic reality of farming in NI, as well as the challenges posed by unpredictable weather.

To blame blue green algae in Lough Neagh on the Going for Growth report, is little other than political point scoring.