It’s now time to work together on farming

AS THE clock winds down on his tenure as First Minister, Mark Drakeford gave his final planned press conference yesterday.

While Mr Drakeford wanted to talk about Wales’ place in the world, the assembled journalists wanted to talk about something more pressing – farming.

It is a story that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon as farmers mobilise to voice their concerns about Welsh Government proposals and it’s spreading from farms to the wider population.

We’ve already seen go-slow protests on the A48, outside Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths’ Wrexham office office and the Labour leadership hustings in Powys – and the anger shows no sign of subsiding.

Celebrity farmers Nigel Owens and Jeremy Clarkson have both had their say, and it has dominated opposition politicians’ output in recent days.

Yesterday, the First Minister told farmers “change is unavoidable” and warned that if public money is going to be spent helping farmers, it’s right they know what is being done with it.

“The Welsh Government wants to go on supporting farmers here in Wales but the bargain cannot be that the public puts its hand into its pocket to put millions of pounds, nearly £300m every year, on the table for farmers to do just whatever farmers think they would like to do with it.

“That cannot be the bargain,” he said.

Plaid Cymru said the comments were another example of Labour being “out of touch”, while farmer and Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said it showed “naked contempt”.

Mr Drakeford spent the press conference saying he fully expects the plan on the table now will change again as the consultation continues, but until then anger and resentment is growing.

He says his government is listening, farmers say the opposite.

The reaction to his comments was of more anger, that his government is sacrificing farmers and jobs.

Farmer Ioan Humphreys didn’t hold back in a video of his reaction, saying: “That man is single-handedly killing Welsh farming”.

When asked where we go from here, Mr Drakeford said it was time for everyone to work together, and after talks yesterday afternoon, the FUW says it wants to see “genuine co-design” and welcomed the conversations that have already happened.

But they are clear on one thing, their requests need to be taken “seriously”.