At the meeting, which was held on Monday 3rd February at The International Pavillion, Royal Welsh Showground, LD2 3SY, Gian Marco addressed members about a number of issues including the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), water quality regulations and animal health.
Gian Marco explained to members the work that had been going on behind the scenes in terms of the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) and that the Deputy First Minister was heavily involved in these discussions.
SFS Consultation
He told members about a number of things that had changed within the SFS proposals following the consultation last year which included a reduction in the number of Universal Actions, the removal of the 10% trees requirement and that there would now be a scheme target, instead of a per-farm target.
Looking ahead to the next six months, Gian Marco said that Welsh Government are currently working on an impact assessment and economic analysis of the scheme which will go back to the roundtable once completed before the Deputy First Minister makes a final decision. He said all this will culminate in a final scheme design which will hopefully be released in the summer. He said they have always said they want to give farmers as much notice as possible to get to grips with the asks in the scheme and the deadline to join the scheme in 2026 will be the SAF deadline.
Gian Marco told members in attendance that we are currently in a preparatory phase and this includes a suite of schemes that provide predictability and stability and an idea of some of the practices and requirements that will be within the SFS.
Moving on to discuss water quality regulations, Gian Marco said that we are currently in the middle of a four yearly review which has to be concluded before end of March and once this is completed by Independent Chair, Dr Susannah Bolton, Welsh Government will announce next steps.
Animal disease in Wales
Finally, when discussing the animal disease picture here in Wales, Gian Marco discussed avian influenza and said that together with the other governments in the UK, they have imposed an AIPZ order. He said they are reviewing the requirements and watching closely. Gian Marco also mentioned the isolated case of foot and mouth disease in Germany and again said they are watching this very closely. He reminded members in the audience of the importance of biosecurity and keeping these diseases out.
NFU Cymru President Aled Jones also addressed the conference, providing members with an update on the union’s lobbying work across a number of areas including Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme, water quality, bovine TB and the UK Government’s family farm tax proposals.
NFU Cymru Brecon & Radnor County Chairman Rob Powell said:
“We are extremely grateful that Gian Marco Currado took the time to come and speak with us at our recent county conference. It was good to receive an update on the SFS scheme and to highlight to Gian Marco the areas where we believe further changes need to be made to the Scheme before the final proposals are published this Summer.”