To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to outline the financial support available currently for carbon negative farming and land use.

My Department provides funding for carbon negative farming and land use sectors through a number of available routes.

Under the current NI Rural Development Programme Priority 5(e) the Forest Expansion Scheme, the Small Woodland Grant Scheme and the Environmental Farming Scheme aim to foster carbon conservation and sequestration.

In February this year Minister Lyons announced that the Department, under the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) scheme, had awarded funding of up to £840,000 to seven Operational Groups for farming innovation projects. The Groups bring together expertise to take forward project proposals which address a range of issues including options for reducing carbon emissions.

I have also recently launched the £800,000 Environmental Challenge Fund Competition, to support environmental projects. Key areas for funding include assessments of carbon storage, sequestration and restoration.