Sustained inflation in key farm inputs since the start of the fuel crisis is putting renewed pressure on the viability of farming and exposing how vulnerable domestic food production is to geopolitical and energy shocks, the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) has warned the UK government.

The latest UK agricultural price statistics show fertiliser prices at least 25.9% higher in June than a year earlier and energy up 20%, the union said, while the price index for agricultural outputs was 4.3% lower year on year. Northern Ireland's own income figures tell the same story: spending on fertilisers and lime rose 32% to £133 million in 2025, and total gross inputs across the region's agriculture reached £2.18 billion.

"Six months on, the impact of geopolitical instability continues to be reflected in the costs facing our farm businesses," said UFU deputy president Glenn Cuddy. "Fuel, fertiliser and energy are fundamental agricultural inputs and sustained increases are having a direct impact on margins, investment decisions and ultimately the capacity of farms to maintain viable production." At a minimum, he said, the government should extend its rebated fuel duty cut of 6.48p per litre beyond December 2026 to avoid a damaging 72% increase.

Cuddy called for a real framework treating domestic food security as part of national security and contingency planning, and for "joined-up thinking" across all administrations. He pointed to the disconnect between rising production costs and the returns available: farmers "cannot be expected to continually absorb additional costs while simultaneously being asked to invest, improve productivity, meet environmental commitments, and maintain a secure supply of high-quality food".

"Food security is national security," he said. "That cannot simply be a phrase used during periods of international instability, it must be reflected in policy and in the way government values our sector." Northern Ireland agriculture, with its skilled farmers and large agri-food sector, is "a strategic national asset", he argued, but keeping that capacity requires farm businesses that are economically sustainable — "resilience cannot be interpreted as an unlimited capacity to absorb cost increases". Joe Griffin reported for Agriland.

Source: Agriland