GREEN DREAM ‘RISK TO FARMS’
FUW HAS ‘GRAVE CONCERNS’ THAT SUBSIDY SCHEME WILL PUT SOME OUT OF BUSINESS
FINANCIAL support for intensive food production continues to be a notable absentee from the new subsidy regime planned for Wales.
Instead the Welsh Government will encourage lessintensive land management practices from 2023.
A white paper on the proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), published on Wednesday, sets out Cardiff’s ambition for a green-focused support regime based on payments for “public goods”.
The Farmers Union of Wales (FUW) said it had “grave concerns” over a “one-dimensional, untried and untested mechanism” of payments.
If it put farms out of business, it could end up undermining the environmental benefits that the Welsh Government was keen to secure, said FUW president Glyn Roberts.
He claimed the proposed SFS is “basically the same” as for England’s Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme – and not a bespoke system designed for Wales.
“It very much feels as if we are taking a long-standing English idea and putting a Welsh spin on it, rather than designing a homegrown Welsh scheme,” he added.
NFU Cymru was also dismayed that the proposed scheme was “almost entirely focused on environmental outcomes”.
Despite two previous SFS consultations, the union said little had appeared to change from the original proposals outlined in the 2018 “Brexit and Our Land” document.
“Covid-19 has brought into sharp focus the need for food security for all in society to be embedded as a key objective of government policy,” said NFU Cymru president John Davies.
“It is disappointing to see that this matter is not recognised in what Welsh Government propose as a vision for the next 15-20 years.”
By replacing the Basic Payment and agri-environment schemes with the SFS, Cardiff hopes to place a “proper value” on the environmental outcomes delivered by farmers.
These include improved soils, cleaner air and water, improved biodiversity and measures to reduce global warming.
New national minimum standards for agriculture will be created, effectively replacing the cross compliance system.
To support this, a new enforcement regime will be put in place. This will deploy a range of civil sanctions – plus criminal penalties for the most severe offences.
Other proposals in the White Paper include supporting wider supply chains beyond the farm gate, simplification of data collection and improving animal health.
Farmers will also be encouraged to create and maintain woodlands, and to decarbonise the sector as a whole.
In the meantime, the Welsh Government intends to continue with Basic Payments
Scheme in 2022 – subject to funding from Westminster.
Rural affairs minister Lesley Griffiths said Welsh farmers must contribute to the climate emergency.
She stressed: “I want farmers to see our proposals as an opportunity rather than an approach that restricts their “freedom to farm”.
However, NFU fears the introduction of a set of National Minimum Standards could result in a “significant uplift of the regulatory baseline”, affecting competitiveness.
The union is also alarmed at the timing of the latest consultation: responses must be in by March 25. “We are concerned it will make it harder for farmers to actively participate in this consultation,” said NFU Cymru president John Davies.
“Our most pressing focus is supporting each other through the current pandemic – and in preparing for the significant disruption that the industry will face following the ending of the Brexit transition period on December 31.”