Welsh Government must continue to listen to Welsh farmers as the summary of responses to the latest SFS consultation is published. The industry’s voice has been loud and clear and it has been a challenging process to get this far for everyone involved.
It comes as no surprise that the consensus from the mammoth 12,000 farmers and organisations who responded to the consultation calls for significant changes to the scheme proposals.
This was also the clear message from FUW members who responded individually, and fed their views into the Union’s comprehensive consultation response earlier this year. The FUW are leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to make this scheme work for farmers.
The FUW welcomes the remarks made by the Cabinet Secretary as he commits to introducing the scheme only when it is ready. This needs to be an agricultural support scheme that provides stability for our food producing family farms in Wales and considers economic, social and environmental sustainability on equal footings. As a Union, this remains the FUW’s ultimate goal.
The written statement by the Cabinet Secretary refers to the on-going work of the SFS Ministerial Roundtable, Carbon Sequestration and Officials groups in reviewing and implementing the scheme, in partnership with the farming unions and other stakeholders.
The FUW welcomed the announcement that the SFS will not begin until 2026 and that a preceded preparatory phase will take place next year.
There is an intense body of work being undertaken by the FUW with the Cabinet Secretary, stakeholders and Welsh Government officials, with extremely important discussions having taken place.
FUW members can rest assured the FUW are doing its utmost to negotiate a scheme that works for all farmers in Wales from 2026 onwards. This remains the FUW’s commitment to Welsh farmers.