“We will ensure the strong voice of Welsh farmers will be heard in the negotiations on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy out in Brussels,” Alun Davies AM, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, told Brecon and Radnor farmers at their recent NFU Cymru Conference.
Mr Davies continued, “I also want to reassure Welsh farmers that decisions will not be taken on the hoof when it comes to the future of the CAP in Wales as I appreciate these decisions will determine the financial framework farmers will operate in for many years to come.”
The Welsh Government is currently doing modelling work on how best to implement the CAP reform proposals across Wales and Alun Davies told local farmers that there was a need to ensure that one farming sector should not be unfairly treated against another when it came to distribution of the Single Farm Payment after the reform.
Ed Bailey, NFU Cymru President urged the Deputy Minister to conclude the modelling work as fast as possible and put it out in the public domain as many farmers across Wales were looking for this information to inform their views on the CAP proposals which Welsh Government are currently consulting on. He said, “We must ensure fairplay for everyone and the Welsh Government has a duty to provide accurate information to the industry in order to ensure that there is an appropriate and considered response to the important questions now being posed by Government in response to the EC’s CAP reform proposals.”
Euryn Jones, Regional Agriculture Manager, Wales for HSBC Bank Plc, sponsors of the conference, echoed Ed Bailey’s plea to the Welsh Government to make the modelling work public as soon as possible. Mr Jones said, “Businesses need this information to be able to make plans for the future.”
The Deputy Minister also used the conference update farmers on the work of the Smarter Working Group in easing the burden on farmers of red-tape and regulation. Mr Davies said he has had the working group’s recommendations and will be in a position to declare his position on 31 January 2012.
Glasnant Morgan, the new Brecon & Radnor NFU Cymru Chairman thanked the Deputy Minister for his address and for his reassurance that he will represent Welsh farmers with a strong voice in Brussels during the CAP reform negotiations. He also thanked HSBC bank for their generous support for the conference.
No comments have been made.