On the 16th of December 2020 the Welsh Government published its Agriculture (Wales) White Paper consultation, outlining proposals for what may be the biggest changes in agricultural policy for decades. It sets out a programme for change over the next 15-20 years and follows two previous Welsh Government consultation documents, Brexit and our Land and Sustainable Farming and our Land (the FUW response to both of these can be found here).
The consultation outlines proposals for a raised regulatory baseline, the new Sustainable Farming Scheme based on Public Goods payments, improved data collection from farms and support for forestry and woodland creation amongst other proposals. FUW county executive meetings will be held throughout February and March to discuss the consultation document.
The FUW has reacted to the release of the Welsh Government’s Agriculture (Wales) White Paper saying the paper does little to reduce concerns regarding the impacts for families and communities of proposed sweeping changes to agricultural support.
The Agriculture (Wales) White Paper consultation can be found here: https://gov.wales/agriculture-wales-bill and closed on 26th March 2021.
The FUW response can be found here.