The new Government is set to deliver its first budget later this month at what is a critical time for Welsh agriculture.
NFU Cymru’s long-held view is that a strong primary production base is of huge strategic and economic importance, something which is borne out by the fact that in Wales alone the food and drink sector has now grown to reach a turnover of £9.3 billion, whilst employing 228,500 people (the equivalent to 17% of Wales’ total workforce).
Despite this positive story of growth and the fact that Wales is home to some of the most productive and forward-thinking farmers in the world, there are several factors which continue to adversely impact on the sector’s confidence. These include weather events, high input costs, marketplace volatility, animal disease together with policy and regulatory issues.
Ahead of the Autumn Statement later this month, and on behalf of the many thousands of family farms represented in NFU Cymru’s membership, NFU Cymru therefore wanted to take the opportunity to write to MPs and bring to their attention a couple of issues which are increasingly being raised with us, by our members.
