The farming, fishing and forestry sectors are worth up to £30m for the island’s GDP according to the latest government data.

The figure was revealed by Minister for Environment, Food and Agriculture Geoffrey Boot in response to a Tynwald question for written answer from Lawrie Hooper MHK (Ramsey).

Mr Hooper asked ’what the total GDP was for a) agriculture and b) fishing for each of the last five financial years?’

The minister said that his department doesn’t record and keep information in such a way.

He added: ’However the National Income Report published by the economic affairs team in the Cabinet Office shows the following amounts for a combined, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector based on current prices (£000s).’

The figures were: 2016/17 - £29,922; 2015/16 - £21,903; 2014/15 - £20,898; 2013/14 - £26,718; and 2012/13 - £27,218.

Mr Boot said: ’It is important to note that this data does not include the subsequent added value achieved through food processing and marketing, for example through shucking scallops or making cheese, which the Food Matters Strategy identifies would typically double this value.’

Mr Hooper also asked how many people work in each sector, figures which are also not recorded by DEFA but by the Cabinet Office.

Those figures revealed that in 2018/19, there was 455 people working in the sector, the lowest at any point in the past five years, the highest was 2014/15 at 612.

Mr Boot said: ’The department does receive data from the annual farming census, which indicates that around a further 200 people are declared to contribute informally and unpaid to the farming workforce, as part of the farming family’s commitment to their businesses.’