Welsh Government Must Continue To Listen To Farmers, Says FUW

Commenting on the Welsh Government’s response to the final consultation on the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), FUW President Ian Rickman said:

“Welsh Government must continue to listen to Welsh farmers as the summary of responses to the latest SFS consultation is published today. 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 our members who responded individually, and fed their views into the Union’s comprehensive consultation response earlier this year. We are leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to make this scheme work for farmers.

“We welcome the remarks made by the Cabinet Secretary today 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 our 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.”

President, Ian Rickman, concluded: “FUW members can rest assured we are doing our utmost to negotiate a scheme that works for all farmers in Wales from 2026 onwards. This remains our commitment to Welsh farmers.”