The Farmers’ Union of Wales has welcomed plans to double the retailer levy available to the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) to 2 million pounds.

The levy available to the GCA is used to fund investigations into retailers which may have conducted breaches of the Groceries Supply Chain Code of Practice.

However, unspent levy must be returned and this increase in the amount of levy available therefore allows the Adjudicator to have a ‘float’ to fund potential investigations into bad or unfair practices.

“The initial levy pot available to the adjudicator was £800,000 and this cost was split between the 5 major retailers,” said FUW Senior Policy Officer Dr Hazel Wright..

“This significant increase should aid the adjudicator in funding investigations and is a positive step forward in identifying unfair practices, improving transparency and fostering accountability in the supply chain.”

The Groceries Code applies to those supermarkets with a turnover of greater than 1 billion pounds and the FUW has repeatedly called for this threshold to be lowered in order to cover more retailers.

Dr Wright added that the Groceries Code still does not cover indirect suppliers to supermarkets or the voluntary dairy code.  Whilst this move to increase the levy collected must be welcomed, there remains more work to be done in order to improve the position of farmers in the supply chain.

The Adjudicator cannot launch any investigation into a retailer without information from suppliers and the FUW would therefore encourage relevant members to fill in the supplier survey which was launched last month on the Adjudicator’s website.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales will be holding a series of EU debates ahead of the upcoming  referendum.

The Union is committed to providing as much information as possible to its members in order for them to make a fully informed decision in June, and is therefore staging a further five debates over the coming weeks.

“If you want to know more about the arguments then you need to be at these debates,” said FUW Managing Director Alan Davies.

“We know that there’s a lot of noise about the EU and the referendum and a lot of that noise is ill informed. That is why we are holding a series of debates around the country to help inform members of the benefits of staying in the EU.”

The debates will take place on Monday, May 23 at Monmouthshire Livestock Auction, Raglan , Wednesday, May 25 at Welshpool Livestock Market, Wednesday, June 1 at Glynllifon College, Caernarfon , Monday, June 6 at Rhug Estate, Corwen, and Tuesday, June 7 at the FUW RWAS pavilion, Buith Wells.

All the events are commencing at 7pm.

“It’s well recognized that we’ve been a long-standing supporter of ongoing membership of the EU, and whilst we don’t anticipate that changing, we should always seek to widen our understanding whenever possible,” said FUW President Glyn Roberts.

The debate is open to members and other parties interested in agriculture and the protection of the rural economy of Wales.

[caption id="attachment_6357" align="alignleft" width="225"] Darren Williams is the Union’s representative on the new Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales.[/caption]

Farmers’ Union of Wales Younger Voice for Farming Committee Chairman Darren Williams is the Union’s representative on the new Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales.

A tenant farmer at Talwen Fawr, near Brecon, Mr Williams is also chairman of the FUW’s Brecon and Radnor county branch.

The panel’s core functions are to draft the Agricultural Wages Orders to set the minimum rates of agricultural pay in Wales as well as terms and conditions of agricultural employment, to promote careers in agriculture,  to advise the Welsh Ministers on agricultural matters and to promote skills development and training opportunities in the sector.

The panel must meet at least three times a year but is able to meet as regularly as is necessary to ensure it achieves its wide ranging remit.

Its membership includes independent members and industry representatives of both employers and employees.

The membership includes one chairperson, one independent agricultural member, one independent education member, one FUW representative, one NFU representative and two UNITE representatives.

Welsh ministers appoint the independent chair and four independent members through a public appointment process while the industry representatives are selected by their respective organisations.

Members serve a term of four years and can serve no more than two terms.

Speaking about his appointment Darren Williams said: “I am delighted to represent the FUW on this panel. It will no doubt be an enormous challenge given the current economic climate and challenges facing agriculture.

“However, by working together with the panel I hope we will be able to advise Welsh Ministers well, attract more people to the industry by promoting careers in the sector and highlight the benefits of skill development and training opportunities.”

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has emphasised the importance of appointing a dedicated minister with responsibilities for farming and rural affairs.

“Agriculture and rural affairs are key to our economy, and central to addressing and dealing with the major challenges of our generation,” said FUW President Glyn Roberts.

“With issues such as climate change and water management dominating agendas such as those listed in the Well-being of Future Generations Act, we need a dedicated minister to fight for the interests of our rural communities – communities for which agriculture is a cornerstone,” he added.

Mr Roberts said the call tied in with the FUW’s vision of a Rural Powerhouse for Wales which recognises the central role agriculture and rural areas must play in addressing the challenges of the future, while ensuring the focus does not just fall on the M4 and A55 corridors.

“This can only be done by having a full minister who sits on the Welsh Government cabinet and has responsibilities for agriculture and rural affairs.

“The FUW looks forward to working closely with the incoming Government in order to ensure priorities are met for rural Wales and Wales as a whole,” he added.

Under the previous Welsh administration the agricultural portfolio was moved between ministers and deputy ministers a number of times following Welsh cabinet reshuffles.