Farmers’ economic fears over ‘social experiment’
FARMERS in Wales feel as though they’re part of a “social experiment” that could have catastrophic effects on the country’s rural economy.
Welsh Government proposals to adopt an “untried and untested” farm policy have sparked widespread concerns across the sector.
In France, concerns about much smaller policy changes recently sparked protests amid fears they will push some farmers to the brink.
Wales is targeting much bigger change by switching farm support for food production to payments for “public goods”, such as water management, tree planting and climate mitigation.
According to the FUW, such a “radical” move will threaten not only farm businesses but also many thousands of rural businesses and jobs that rely on food production.
Speaking ahead of the Welsh
Senedd Elections in May, FUW Carmarthenshire chairman Phil Jones said concerns in the farming community are “at an all-time high”.
“I feel like I’m part of a social experiment; like every farmer in Wales is part of that experiment,” he said. “The Welsh Government doesn’t know the likely outcome of its proposals – but some academics have suggested the policy will lead to the loss of around 25% of UK farms.
“No pilot schemes have been done. They haven’t considered the impact on a farmer who maybe gets between £10,000 and £15,000, and how this would impact their production, their profitability and the money they spend on other businesses in their local community.”
Average farm incomes in Wales remain well below the average UK household level, at around £24,000, with around 80% of this relying on post-Brexit CAP support.
However, this support maintains farms with average turnovers of around £160,000 – money which circulates around the wider rural economy, underpinning thousands of other businesses.
The FUW believes Wales should not be simply adopting a regime that was originally developed in England, for English farmers. This is certainly the view of Mr Jones, who grazes 350 sheep on 150 acres at Clyttie Cochion, Llanpumsaint.
He took the holding back in hand in 2011 after it had been rented out following a family tragedy.
“An unimaginative scheme, copied from a single principle developed in England, is likely to increase costs and rules and reduce efficiency to the point where supporting those other businesses by farming sheep no longer makes sense for a farm like ours,” he said.
“There is a real danger we could end up with farms that are just shells of their former presence, contributing nothing to their local communities either socially or financially.”
Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths has said the proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme will provide an “important income stream” for farmers by rewarding them for the unpaid environmental work they already undertake.