department of agriculture,

What department of agriculture, does

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) is the Northern Ireland Executive department responsible for agriculture, environment, fisheries, forestry, food safety, and rural development policy across the region. It operates as a statutory regulator and public service provider rather than a commercial entity, delivering farm support schemes, environmental regulation, animal health and welfare services, fisheries management, forestry policy, and rural development programmes to citizens, farm businesses, and rural communities in Northern Ireland.

Its digital product surface consists of more than twenty specialised tools: ArcGIS-powered map viewers (Marine Mapviewer, Natural Environment Map Viewer, Noise Map Viewers rounds 1–4), agricultural calculators (Nitrogen Loading, N Max for Grassland, Manure Storage, Manure Exports Records), the NIFAIS food animal information system, the LPIS Annual Fields Snapshot Viewer, the Rural Data Hub, the Customer Portal and Online Services platform, and domain dashboards such as the Lough Neagh Water Quality Dashboard. Underlying technology is a polyglot stack of ArcGIS for spatial data, Google Analytics for web telemetry, YouTube and Vimeo for video, Google Translate for multilingual access, and dedicated government IT systems for animal health and land parcel identification. There is no proprietary AI/ML capability; the department has published an AI policy but restricts automated decision-making on personal data.

DAERA's business model is non-commercial: it is funded through Northern Ireland Executive budget allocations rather than user fees, and it discharges statutory duties via in-house teams, regional offices in Ballykelly, Belfast, and Lisburn, and a network of arm's length bodies — CAFRE (education), AFBI (research), LMC (red meat industry), the Loughs Agency (inland fisheries), and the Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority.

Name

department of agriculture,

Legal name

Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs

Website

https://dardni.gov.uk

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) is the Northern Ireland government department that regulates agriculture, environment, fisheries, forestry, and rural development, delivering digital services, grants, and inspections to citizens, farm businesses, and rural communities across the region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Agriculture and Environment Services

NAICS

Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Fishing, Hunting And Trapping (900), Refuse Systems (4953), Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)

akta.pro primary industry

Forestry & Public Lands Administration (State/National Forests) (BPAIAMAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Solid Waste & Recycling Services Administration (BPAIACAH)

Keywords

• Agricultural policy
• Environmental regulation
• Rural development
• Fisheries management
• Animal health services

Headquarters

HQ city

Ballykelly

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

DAERA is a Northern Ireland government department that develops and implements statutory policy on agriculture, environment, fisheries, forestry, animal health and welfare, food safety, and rural affairs. It administers farm support schemes and grants, enforces environmental and fisheries regulations, conducts inspections, manages public access to the natural environment, and delivers digital public-facing services such as the DAERA Customer Portal, online mapping tools, and the NIFAIS regulatory IT system. The department is part of the Northern Ireland Executive, headquartered in Ballykelly, and operates with allied agencies including CAFRE, AFBI, the LMC, the Loughs Agency, and the NI Fishery Harbour Authority.

Product overview

DAERA operates as a government department offering a portfolio of digital services focused on agriculture, environment, fisheries, and rural affairs in Northern Ireland. The core digital infrastructure consists of multiple map-based viewers (NI Marine Mapviewer, Natural Environment Map Viewer, Noise Map Viewers), agricultural calculators (Nitrogen Loading Calculator, N Max for Grassland Calculator, Manure Storage Calculator), information systems (NIFAIS for food animal information), data platforms (Rural Data Hub), and customer service portals. These services are built on ArcGIS mapping technology and integrate Google Analytics for web analytics and YouTube/Vimeo for video content. The product portfolio is characterized by multiple specialized tools serving distinct regulatory and administrative functions rather than a unified platform architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DAERA Customer Portal

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE)coreOthersCAFRE provides education and training courses for the land-based and food industries, supporting workforce development in agriculture and rural sectors.
• Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI)coreOthersAFBI conducts research and provides scientific services related to agriculture, food, and biosciences to support DAERA's policy and regulatory functions.
• Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC)coreOthersLMC supports the livestock and meat industry in Northern Ireland through promotion, quality assurance, and industry development.
• Loughs AgencycoreOthersLoughs Agency is responsible for the conservation, protection, development, and improvement of Salmon and Inland Fisheries in Northern Ireland.
• Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour AuthoritycoreOthersManages and develops fishery harbour facilities across Northern Ireland.
• Northern Ireland Environment Link (NIEL)minorOthersUmbrella organization for environmental NGOs that works with DAERA on environmental policy and conservation initiatives.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA): UK-wide counterpart ministry responsible for environment, food, farming, fisheries and rural affairs. Directly comparable to DAERA in scope and statutory function, operating at the UK government level rather than for Northern Ireland specifically.
• Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Ireland): Republic of Ireland ministry covering agriculture, food, fisheries and marine, with cross-border policy relevance (e.g. Irish Sea fisheries management plans). Operates an overlapping remit with DAERA but for a separate jurisdiction.

Regional players

• Scottish Government — Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate: Devolved Scottish administration handling agriculture, rural economy, marine and food policy. Closely comparable to DAERA in function and devolved status but covers a different UK nation.
• Welsh Government — Rural Affairs and Environment Directorate: Devolved Welsh administration covering agriculture, forestry, fisheries, environment and rural development. Functionally analogous to DAERA but operating in Wales.

Broad incumbents

• Environment Agency (England): UK non-departmental public body responsible for environmental regulation, flood management and conservation in England. Overlaps significantly with DAERA's environmental protection, water quality and waste functions but is a regulator/agency rather than a ministerial department.
• Natural England: UK advisory body responsible for England's nature conservation, biodiversity and landscape. Comparable to DAERA's NIEA functions on protected areas, priority habitats and landscape character assessment.
• Forestry England: Public body managing the public forest estate in England. Comparable to DAERA's NI Forest Service in managing state forests, forest policy, and forest industry support.

Others

• Food Standards Agency: UK non-ministerial department responsible for food safety, meat inspection and labelling across the UK. Overlaps with DAERA's meat inspection, milk and food safety functions but operates across the UK rather than NI alone.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/daera_ni
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCuAcWq1MsdtCuxTWkRh9Fsw
• Facebookfacebook.com/Department-of-Agriculture-Environment-and-Rural-Affairs-1852138505061976
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dept-of-agriculture-wa

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about department of agriculture,