Welsh Government has published the independent analysis and its response to the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS): Keeping Farmers Farming consultation. The proposals have been the source of widespread concern and anxiety within the farming community in Wales since their publication.
Large number of concerns
The analysis of the consultation responses pointed to a large number of concerns from the agricultural community including the perceived complexity of the scheme; a desire for there to be a focus on food production; a clear opposition to the woodland requirements of the scheme; and the additional strain and burden the scheme could place on farmers.
Responding to the information published by Welsh Government today, NFU Cymru President Aled Jones said: “The independent analysis undertaken of the thousands of consultation responses received echoes the feedback that we picked up during our very extensive 12-week farmer engagement exercise and is a clear indicator of the need for a major overhaul of the SFS consultation proposals.
New timeline for SFS
“In May, NFU Cymru applauded the sensible and pragmatic approach taken by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies MS to introduce a new timeline for the Sustainable Farming Scheme, maintaining the BPS for 2025 and committing to a programme of ‘meaningful engagement’ through working in partnership with industry.
“We are encouraged that the Cabinet Secretary, has now established the Ministerial Roundtable, the Carbon Sequestration Evidence Review Panel and the SFS Stakeholder Group to provide advice on the final Scheme design. We are pleased to be part of these discussions and recognise the work that has been undertaken thus far. It is vital that this process continues in a positive vein and delivers meaningful change that reflects the scale of concern over the previous proposals.
Underpinning food production
“NFU Cymru remains clear the SFS must move beyond a scheme focussed predominately on the delivery of environmental outcomes and instead become a genuine agricultural policy that underpins food production in an increasingly volatile world, ensures our farm businesses are resilient so that our rural communities and our language can thrive, alongside and in harmony with our environmental obligations and ambitions.
“Changes to the SFS are needed to ensure that the universal baseline payment is practical and achievable for all farm types, sectors and locations. It must provide equal access to all active farmers in Wales, including tenants and commoners. The universal baseline payment must go beyond costs incurred / income foregone calculations and incentivise the actions that Welsh Government asks Welsh farming to deliver for society. The scheme must include a long-term stability mechanism to underpin the continued supply of safe, high quality, affordable food from Wales.”
Significant change
Mr Jones added: “This is the most significant change to agricultural policy in a generation. We are clear that no decisions on the SFS should be undertaken until Welsh Government has undertaken a full socio-economic assessment of the impact of its proposals on Welsh farming, rural communities and the supply chain. The new scheme must deliver the same level of stability to farming, the supply chain and rural Wales as the current support arrangements.
“There is a lot of work to do and NFU Cymru remains committed, dedicating the necessary resources, to work with Welsh Government at pace to ensure we get it right. Neither farming families nor government can afford to have a scheme that fails to deliver on our shared ambitions for food, nature and climate. We need a scheme that underpins food production, our farmed environment, our communities, our language and culture for our generation and those that follow in our footsteps.”