Welsh fears over farm aid plan

CAMPAIGNERS have warned that proposed changes to farm support could destroy the Welsh language at a community level.

Ministers have been consulting on how farm payments will change after Brexit. Among the Welsh Government’s proposals are recommendations to make payments open to everyone, not just farmers; to place more emphasis on using land for forestry and tourism; and to end the basic payment scheme, which sustains many small farms. According to the 2011 Census, 40% of agriculture workers spoke Welsh – the highest of any profession in the country.

Robat Idris of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, the Welsh Language Society, said: “With the emphasis on using Wales’ land for forestry and tourism, it appears that the Government wants to take us to a nightmare scenario where the Welsh language dies with fewer and fewer vibrant communities left in rural areas. We’re very concerned that our devolved government has opened the door to offering generous subsidies to people, companies and bodies outside of Wales to destroy our country’s rural areas.

“The agricultural industry is hugely important to rural communities and the Welsh language. The percentage of farm workers who speak Welsh is higher than in any other sector in the country.

“The number of communities where Welsh is spoken by the majority are very dependent on farming. The vast majority are in the west, mid and northern parts of the country where up to 27% of the population are employed in agriculture. These are also areas where the share of farm workers who speak Welsh is over 90% in several places. International evidence shows that communities with a high density of speakers of a minoritised language are essential to that language’s survival.”

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We fully recognise the importance of the Welsh language to our rural areas. Our proposals in Brexit and Our Land aim to protect our rural communities and the language and enable the sector to thrive in a post-Brexit world.”