The Agriculture Bill sets out fundamental changes to the principles that have underpinned our agricultural industry and rural communities since the 1940s. It will define the economy, environment, society and culture of rural Wales for decades to come, so it has to be right.
While the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) welcomed many aspects of the Bill following its introduction to the Senedd in September 2022, the FUW have raised a number of concerns and highlighted areas it believes need improving to make such an important piece of legislation fit for purpose.
In particular, given the interconnectivity and interdependence of land management, food production and rural livelihoods, the FUW were alarmed by the almost complete lack of reference or objectives relating to the economic viability of farming families and the livelihoods of rural residents within the definition of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) and the principles of support set out in the Bill.
As such, the Bill in its current form effectively abandons the economic pillar that, along with the environmental and social/cultural pillars, make up the three internationally recognised pillars of sustainability.
The Welsh Government’s proposal to amend the Bill to include the resilience of agricultural businesses as part of the first Sustainable Land Management (SLM) objective is therefore a welcome move towards ensuring that this important piece of legislation covers the economic viability of farming families and rural communities, and the livelihoods and employment agricultural supply chains sustain.
However, the FUW note that the term ‘economic’ is absent from the proposed amendment, and many FUW members will be concerned that the term ‘resilience’ has previously been used to hide a multitude of policies that have been less effective than might have been hoped.
The FUW therefore maintains that it would be preferable to add a distinct fifth SLM objective to the Bill that specifically aims to safeguard the agricultural economy and the community and livelihoods that rely on it, and that doing this would not detract from the environmental and other aspirations of the Bill which the FUW are fully supportive of.
The FUW also sees the Welsh Government’s proposal to add three additional purposes to the power to provide support under Section 8 as a welcome step towards a more holistic list that encompass environmental, social, cultural and economic objectives within the legislation.