Family farms - the backbone of Welsh rural communities - must be the main players in future food production, Farmers' Union of Wales president Emyr Jones said at the Royal Welsh Show today.
Addressing a Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors business breakfast, Mr Jones said politicians and civil servants seem to have finally woken up to the fact that food is quite an important commodity - especially when you haven't got any.
"Talking about the greater good and the terrifying challenges facing the world over the coming decades, some would have us believe the only way forward is to farm on an industrial scale and that the family farm is simply the preserve of the niche market," he said.
"Well, the old saying goes that to know your future you must know your past. So what does past production in Wales tell us about the importance of our average and smaller sized family farms?
"Are the proponents of industrial scale farming right about the usefulness of the majority of those who will visit this showground over the coming days?"
The FUW attempts to answer such questions in a report recently presented to Defra minister Jim Paice stressing that our family farms "which we all know are the backbone of our communities" must also be considered to be the main players in terms of future food production.
The report was drawn up in response to evidence by Mr Paice to a House of Lords Select Committee when he claimed smaller farms would not contribute greatly to the growth of UK food production and productivity, and that UK government-sponsored research would, therefore, be geared towards large farms.
"This paper puts the record straight with the Minister, and underlines the fact that any moves which are biased in favour of larger farms would compromise the viability of our most productive holdings, and have a negative overall impact on agricultural production."
"Under the pre-2005 Common Agricultural Policy, it was Welsh farms with between 75 and 500 acres of forage area that were the most productive in Wales and these farms were responsible for around 80% of Welsh production.
"Even in the lowlands, average productivity for farms with 120 acres of land was the same as for farms with 950 acres, while lowland farms of 330 acres or smaller were responsible for 75% of Welsh lowland production.
"That was before 2005, but I know from my visits to farms throughout Wales that things have not changed dramatically in terms of production patterns, and these figures give us a clear indication of the importance of ensuring that policies are aimed at protecting family farms.
"These farms are where the majority of our food is produced in Wales and we must all strive to ensure it stays that way otherwise we risk seeing our rural society put back a century, accompanied by a significant risk in terms of food production.
"So, whether we are talking about the post-2013 CAP, domestic policies, WTO negotiations, or any other of the vast array of issues which impact on farming, it is clear that protecting the interests of the Welsh family farm should be at the centre of all our lobbying efforts.
"That is certainly what my priority will be over my coming term of office as president of the Farmers' Union of Wales."