At their recent board meeting, Welsh Government’s ‘Sustainable Farming Scheme – Keeping Farmers Farming’ consultation was considered. This sets out how the Basic Payment Scheme is to be fully phased out by 2029 and replaced by the Sustainable Farming Scheme from 2025, with farmers who wish to participate receiving a Universal Baseline Payment in return for delivering 17 Universal Actions and two scheme rules.
Under Welsh Government’s proposals, farmland designated as SSSI will be excluded from the habitat maintenance element of the Universal Baseline Payment. Welsh Government say that support for these sites will be prioritised for inclusion in the Scheme’s Optional Action Layer, but this will be subject to the development of a Management Plan with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and the Optional Action Layer of the scheme is to be introduced later and subject to further engagement and budget availability.
Farmers perplexed
Commenting after the meeting, NFU Cymru Rural Affairs Board Chair, Hedd Pugh said: “Farmers will be perplexed by the latest Welsh Government Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) proposals which will see protected sites such as SSSI’s ineligible for the maintenance component of the Universal Baseline Payment.
“Given that there are some 1,070 SSSIs in Wales currently, many of which are located on farms, it is incomprehensible that these sites are to be excluded from the Universal Layer of the SFS, particularly when we know that it is going to take time to get the Management Plans with NRW in place and a lot more work is going to be needed to get the Optional Action Layer of the scheme operational.
“Some farms support extensive SSSI designations and Welsh Government’s proposals will feel especially punitive to these farmers. These sites are supposed to be the best examples of our natural environment reflecting positive management practices by farmers over generations.
“Current proposals are even more surprising given that Welsh Government’s own biodiversity ‘deep dive’ undertaken in 2022 recommended that the Sustainable Farming Scheme was designed to ensure that farmers were rewarded for providing appropriate management of protected sites.
Deeply concerning
Mr Pugh added: “The central focus of the deep dive was the so-called 30 x 30 target – this refers to protecting and effectively managing at least 30% of Welsh land, freshwater and sea for nature by 2030. It is deeply concerning that Welsh Government wants to extend the area of land under some form of designation but can’t even provide the most basic support for the existing sites.
“NFU Cymru has long argued that future agricultural policy must fairly reward farmers for the environmental/public goods they already deliver and will continue to deliver in the future. You would hope that there will be widespread agreement that Welsh Government’s current policy position in relation to SSSIs is untenable.”
To have your say on the SFS proposals please click here for more information on how to respond to the consultation.