Ulster Unionist MLA Diana Armstrong welcomes the Protein Crop Scheme's extension to 2027 but warns that falling participation and an unchanged £330 per hectare payment risk undermining its aims, calling for a permanent, farmer-shaped scheme after next May's assessment.

The Ulster Unionist agriculture spokesperson and chair of the Assembly's Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee said the continuation of support would help growers plan, but urged a review of the payment rate and a move to a permanent scheme to replace what will by then have been a seven-year pilot. She also highlighted a sharp drop in planted area, from 802 hectares in 2024 to 422 hectares this year, and noted the support rate has remained at £330 per hectare since 2021 despite rising costs.

She said: "I welcome the extension of the Protein Crop Scheme. At a time when so many farm businesses are under pressure, knowing this support will continue gives growers the stability to plan their rotations with confidence. "Home grown protein makes sense on every level. Northern Ireland remains heavily dependent on imported soya and other proteins for animal feed. Beans, peas and lupins grown here reduce that reliance, fix their own nitrogen and give arable farmers a valuable break crop. That is good for farm incomes, the environment and our food security.

"What concerns me is the direction of travel. The area grown reached 802 hectares in 2024 but has fallen to 422 hectares this year, around a third of the scheme’s capacity.

"Part of the answer may be the payment itself. Farmers received £330 per hectare when the scheme opened in 2021, and they still receive £330 today. Five years of rising costs have steadily eroded the value of that support.

"This scheme began as a two year pilot. By the end of 2027 it will have run for seven. Farmers cannot invest in long-term rotations on the basis of one extension after another. When the Department's assessment reports next May, I want to see it lead to a permanent scheme, with a payment rate that reflects today’s costs and a design shaped by the farmers who have taken part."