Earlier this month, the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Ms Lesley Griffiths, announced the launch of a second consultation on the future of farm payments in Wales. The ‘Sustainable Farming and our Land consultation’, which was launched on 9th July, follows the 2018 ‘Brexit and Our Land’ consultation and runs until 30th October 2019.
As with its predecessor, this new consultation proposes that future support should be designed around the principle of sustainability in a way which brings together the ‘wide-ranging and significant economic, environmental and social contribution or farmers’. The consultation proposes a single Sustainable Farming Scheme based on the principles of providing a ‘meaningful and stable income stream; rewarding outcomes in a fair way; paying for both new and existing sustainable practices; and flexibility allowing it to apply to every type of farm’.
The FUW welcomes the fact that this consultation document acknowledges many of the concerns raised by the union to last years Brexit and our Land consultation, and the improved focus on farmers and food producers is also welcomed. References within the consultation to undertake detailed modelling and economic assessments, capping and/or tapering payments and a focus on active farmers are also principles which the FUW lobbied for in any future scheme.
However, it must be recognised that the basic underlying principles have not changed from the original Brexit and our Land proposal. Indeed, the consultation proposes a fundamental shift away from direct support for farmers towards what is, in essence, a public goods scheme. The significant concerns highlighted in the FUW’s response to the previous Brexit and our Land proposals therefore remain valid.
Such concerns include the fact that farmers in the EU will continue to receive direct support, while Welsh farmers would not. This means that Welsh farmers would be asked to do more and be faced with greater restrictions, whilst still being expected to compete on even terms with their EU counterparts. This concern also relates to competition with Scottish and Northern Irish farmers if they continue to receive some form of direct support.
FUW is also concerned that the ambition of what is proposed, in terms of farm visits and negotiating contracts with farmers, is unprecedented.
Given the significant impact of the proposals contained within this consultation, the FUW will be holding special meetings to discuss the way forward and will be announcing the dates and locations of these meetings across Wales in the coming weeks.