The States of Guernsey has agreed to extend the emergency financial support to help the dairy farming industry.
This is due to the continued pressures on the industry caused by the war in Ukraine and the impact this is having on the cost of fertiliser and feed. Although those costs are stabilising, they remain significantly higher than normal with, for example, some fertiliser costs being nearly double that prior to the war.
The short-term emergency funding of £243,000 will be provided over the next three months from the Budget Reserve. Alongside this short-term emergency funding, a review of the island’s dairy sector is also taking place to understand how to achieve the sector’s long-term sustainability.
Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez, President of the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure, said: “Dairy farming and our iconic Guernsey breed have a unique place in Guernsey’s identity, culture and landscape, and in this current financial climate, emergency funding is needed to see our farmers through this interim period while we carry out a review on the sector’s long-term sustainability. This emergency funding is only a stopgap but it is urgently needed.”
Deputy Peter Ferbrache, President of the Policy & Resources Committee, said: “We all know that emergency funding is not a viable long-term solution for the industry. We’re doing this to avoid the disastrous outcome of losing this industry in the very short-term, but we are working with the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure to have a viable long-term plan in place and quickly.”
