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Pictured from left are Alun Davies, Deputy Welsh Agriculture Minister; Derek Vaughan MEP and Emyr Jones, FUW President.[/caption]
A Farmers' Union of Wales delegation visiting Brussels to discuss CAP reform met deputy Welsh agriculture minister Alun Davies just before he attended his first EU Agriculture Council meeting as part of the UK ministerial team alongside Defra minister Jim Paice.
"We made the most of the opportunity to tell the minister about the purpose of our visit and explain to him that we were in Brussels to fight for the future of Welsh family farms," said FUW president Emyr Jones.
Mr Davies was attending the Council as part of a two-day programme in Brussels for discussions with Mr Paice about CAP reform.
He also met Welsh MEPs and highlighted an innovative Welsh project to deliver added-value on new food products.
The showcase event highlighted the Knowledge Innovation Technology Exchange (KITE) project, delivered by the Food Industry Centre of the University of Wales Cardiff (UWIC). The programme provides a flexible package of support for small firms to help them develop the technical aspects of their businesses.
"I was impressed to learn that in the eighteen months it has been operating, the project has developed over 50 new food products, which is expected to double by the end of 2011, and over 70 jobs have been created in technical and manufacturing roles," Mr Jones added.
During the FUW's four-day visit he has led discussions with all four Welsh MEPs, the Italian chairman the European agriculture and rural development committee and other committee members from Germany, Scotland, Ireland and England.