Welsh Government must listen to the voice of the industry on the level of change required to future policy as identified in the swell of responses to the Sustainable Farming Scheme consultation, says NFU Cymru.

 Welsh Government has published the independent analysis and its response to the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS): Keeping Farmers Farming consultation. The proposals have been the source of widespread concern and anxiety within the farming community in Wales since their publication.

 The analysis of the consultation responses pointed to a large number of concerns from the agricultural community including the perceived complexity of the scheme; a desire for there to be a focus on food production; a clear opposition to the woodland requirements of the scheme; and the additional strain and burden the scheme could place on farmers.

 Responding to the information published by Welsh Government, NFU Cymru President Aled Jones said: “The independent analysis undertaken of the thousands of consultation responses received echoes the feedback that we picked up during our very extensive 12-week farmer engagement exercise and is a clear indicator of the need for a major overhaul of the SFS consultation proposals.

 “NFU Cymru remains clear the SFS must move beyond a scheme focussed predominately on the delivery of environmental outcomes and instead become a genuine agricultural policy that underpins food production in an increasingly volatile world, ensures our farm businesses are resilient so that our rural communities and our language can thrive, alongside and in harmony with our environmental obligations and ambitions. 

 “Changes to the SFS are needed to ensure that the universal baseline payment is practical and achievable for all farm types, sectors and locations. It must provide equal access to all active farmers in Wales, including tenants and commoners. The universal baseline payment must go beyond costs incurred / income foregone calculations and incentivise the actions that Welsh Government asks Welsh farming to deliver for society. The scheme must include a long-term stability mechanism to underpin the continued supply of safe, high quality, affordable food from Wales.”  

Mr Jones added: “This is the most significant change to agricultural policy in a generation. We are clear that no decisions on the SFS should be undertaken until Welsh Government has undertaken a full socio-economic assessment of the impact of its proposals on Welsh farming, rural communities and the supply chain. The new scheme must deliver the same level of stability to farming, the supply chain and rural Wales as the current support arrangements.