This Order transfers from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development all the non-statutory functions with which the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce was charged in relation to Northern Ireland prior to the abolition of that Board. These are mainly functions in relation to the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union. Article 3 of the Order contains some transitional and consequential provisions.

The Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce (Abolition) Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/[ ]) provide for the Intervention Board to be abolished on the day after they are made.