A Welsh farmers' leader today said he was "extremely shocked" by the Welsh Government's decision to abolish the Less Favoured Area (LFA) uplift within the controversial Glastir land management scheme which will affect nearly 80% of agricultural land in Wales.
"This means that for the first time in over 60 years Wales has no scheme which recognises of the hardships of farming within the LFA," said Farmers' Union of Wales president Emyr Jones.
Whilst a review of the costings has resulted in an increase in the base payments from £28 to £34, those farmers situated within the LFA, whose payment would have been £33.60, will only see an increase of 40p, which the FUW believes is ludicrous given the natural handicaps of farming within these areas.
"The Welsh uplands are the very reason why Wales exists. They not only symbolise Wales, but also define Wales," stressed Mr Jones, who lobbied Agriculture Minister Alun Davies at a meeting in Cardiff only last Wednesday to re-introduce the LFA scheme Tir Mynydd.
"We must not forget that the uplands dominate our country and when we talk about the future of the uplands we are, therefore, talking about the future of what defines Wales in terms of our landscape, our culture, and our communities.
"So we were extremely shocked that our concerns have been ignored and salt rubbed into the wound by this latest announcement just two days after meeting him.
"Glastir has been dogged by controversy ever since it was announced by the then Minister in 2009.
"The FUW has consistently voiced its concerns about the scheme and this was vindicated by the extremely low interest during the first application round and the urgent review of the scheme which was, given its terms of reference, unable to make the substantive changes required to make it a viable proposition for farmers.
"I'm now afraid that this latest announcement will mean that Glastir will have no credibility amongst farmers at all.
"We will now step up our demands for an urgent re-instatement of Tir Mynydd as highlighted at our meeting with Mr Davies last Wednesday.
I have spoken to the Minister this morning and called for an urgent meeting to discuss his announcement.
"How can farmers trust a Government who assured us that Glastir would recognise the difficulties of farming in the uplands but now seem to have forgotten that fact?"