Thank you for writing to me in relation to the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).
As you’ll be aware, the Welsh Government’s SFS will result in 122,200 reductions in Welsh livestock numbers, 5,500 jobs on Welsh farms lost, and a £199m loss to Wales’ rural economy.
Regretfully, the Welsh Labour Government, who are propped up by Plaid Cymru through their Co-Operation Agreement, do not recognise the sheer importance of our farming industry, and don’t recognise the strength of feeling in the agricultural community against the SFS. This has seen a poll commissioned by the Country Land and Business Association in Wales that has found just 3% of Welsh farmers trust the Welsh Government.
Please be assured that my Welsh Conservative colleagues and I are calling on the Welsh Government to remove the requirement for each farm to have 10% tree cover, pause the implementation of the SFS in its current form, and to re-engage with the farming unions and the sector to design a scheme that has the support of the farming community.
Farming, and rural Wales, needs a friend right now. If it’s not the SFS, its Bovine TB, NVZ, the possible changes to the school calendar and its impact on the Royal Welsh Show, the attacks on tourism, it’s just one thing after another. I’m proud of my record as a Welsh Conservative of being that friend to farming and rural Wales.
Furthermore, Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs, Samuel Kurtz MS, recently wrote an opinion piece in the Western Mail regarding this, you can see it here - https://www.samuelkurtz.wales/news/farmers-must-not-be-taken-fools.
Thank you for contacting me.
