Talks on climate change issues
FARMERS’ Union of Wales (FUW) members from Carmarthenshire and union officials have discussed climate change issues facing the agricultural industry.
They met virtually with Wales’s Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters MS.
Union officials acknowledged that given the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the role played by soils and plants in sequestering carbon is attracting significant attention, with a particular focus by the Welsh Government on planting trees.
FUW Carmarthen county chairman Phil Jones said: “The FUW supports the overall aims of the Welsh Government with regards to environmental issues.
“However we are concerned that a number of recent policy proposals to increase tree planting targets from 2,000 hectares per year to 5,000 ha/pa could see agricultural funding being diverted towards forestry and woodland with a lack of clarity on the consequences for Wales’s family farms and rural communities.”
Mr Jones added that farmers understand the important role trees play in mitigating climate change, but that it was important to plant the right tree in the right place and that such initiatives have to work in partnership with farming communities across Wales.
He said: “There are many examples where afforestation by private companies has led to the loss of family farms, biodiversity losses and impacted negatively on the rural economy.
“We need to ensure that policy goals that we understand and support are not undermined by the delivery of such policies.”
Members further discussed the issue of carbon trading and highlighted that offsetting carbon emissions through tree planting may represent a viable and somewhat profitable option for some farm businesses, yet most FUW members have expressed concern in regard to the potential for negative outcomes for land management.
Mr Jones added: “We will continue to work with the Welsh Government to find a way of mitigating climate change in a manner that also supports family farms and the economic viability of rural communities.”