Following the third meeting of the Ministerial Roundtable held (23 July) at the Royal Welsh Show, the Welsh Government has confirmed its intentions to pay for the maintenance of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) as part of the Universal Baseline Payment through the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).
Speaking after the meeting, FUW President Ian Rickman said: “We highlighted in our comprehensive consultation response earlier this year that some farms are almost entirely categorised as SSSI and would therefore be placed at a severe disadvantage compared to other producers across Wales if they were unable to access maintenance payments.
“The initial proposals would have resulted in the perverse effect of penalising those farming what have been categorised as Wales’ most precious land.
“While some fundamental questions remain around the payment methodology and capacity within Natural Resources Wales to issue management agreements for SSSI sites, we welcome the efforts made by the Welsh Government to address how the SFS can work alongside the regulatory requirements of the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
“We are committed to the work of the three Welsh Government groups in working through elements of the scheme in turn, and we certainly see this as an important step forward,” concluded Mr Rickman.