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Discussing #FarmingMatters are (l-r) FUW Managing Director Alan Davies, FUW President Glyn Roberts and North Wales AM Mark Isherwood[/caption]
Farmers’ Union of Wales officials were delighted to meet Mark Isherwood AM at the Denbigh and Flint show and used the opportunity to discuss #FarmingMatters.
Mark Isherwood, who was first elected as an Assembly Member for North Wales in 2003, before being re-elected in 2007,2011 and 2016, is now also the current Welsh Conservative Shadow Secretary for Communities, Europe and North Wales.
Speaking after the meeting, FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “We are always grateful to meet with our elected politicians and had wide ranging discussions focusing on the importance of #FarmingMatters when we met with Mark Isherwood. It is imperative that Governments don’t undervalue the important role our family farms play - they lie at the centre of our rural economy, culture and landscape. Therefore it is critical that agriculture and domestic food production is given priority during all trade negotiations with other countries and trading blocks and that bureaucracy and restrictions do not adversely impact or hamper Welsh and UK agriculture.”
The Union President also raised the point that there are many questions as to how current funding support will affect those with agreements under Wales’ rural development programme, making it clear that farmers across Wales need clarity – from Welsh and UK governments – so they can continue to run their businesses and plan for the future.
Mark Isherwood commented following the meeting: “As a member of the Assembly’s new External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee, which will prioritise its work around the need to ensure that Welsh interests are safeguarded in negotiations and eventual decisions on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, it was helpful to discuss with FUW officials the need for the farming community in Wales to be at the centre of the development of a new support system that recognises the distinct challenges faced by farmers in Wales and provides the financial support necessary to support the industry’s long-term sustainable future.”