Over the past few days, many farmers have expressed concern to NFU Cymru over the massive loss in income they will face as their current Glastir contract ends on the 31 December and the Habitat Wales Scheme begins in January 2024.
NFU Cymru lobbying
NFU Cymru has been consistent in its lobbing of Welsh Government over the future of agri-environment support in Wales. The union first wrote to the Minister on the issue in early January this year, where NFU Cymru President Aled Jones outlined the importance of the scheme not only to Welsh farmers, but also to the enhancement of Wales’ environment, biodiversity and habitats. NFU Cymru has since voiced members’ concerns over the ending of the Glastir scheme and ambiguity over the new interim scheme on several occasions, both in writing and in person.
Extreme worry
NFU Cymru President Aled Jones said: “We have had a lot of farmers get in contact with NFU Cymru over recent days who are extremely worried at the drop in income they will face as Glastir ends and the Habitat Wales Scheme begins. A great deal of those raising concerns have committed to government-backed agri-environment delivery on their farms for nearly 30 years. Many farmers report that they will face a reduction in funding of 70% and more in agri-environment support by entering into the new scheme.
Errors
“There was no impact assessment, there was no consultation....there's no budget."@AledNfu has voiced our members' concerns over the new Habitat Wales Scheme which opened last Friday.
— NFU Cymru 🚜 (@NFUCymru) October 3, 2023
➡️https://t.co/UGTibGx7d4 @BBCRadioWales pic.twitter.com/6v0CQ4sR5h
“Our members have also highlighted errors in the habitat maps published on RPW Online, we have raised these issues with Welsh Government and hope they can be addressed.
“In our letter to the Minister in August, and in discussions with the Minister and her officials at the Royal Welsh Show and subsequently, we highlighted our concerns at the lack of consultation and a comprehensive impact assessment to understand the effect on farming businesses prior to making the decision to end all Glastir contracts and introduce the Habitat Wales Scheme. We also raised concerns at the ability to get a totally new scheme designed, tested and operational within such a short timescale.
Our concerns realised
“I take no pleasure in seeing the concerns we raised being realised on the opening of the application period for the Habitat Wales Scheme, it is farming families, rural communities and the continued delivery of agri-environment work on farms across Wales that are the losers in all of this.
“I would urge Welsh Government to urgently review the scheme and address the economic and technical matters that are concerning farmers who are committed to the maintenance and enhancement of the farmed environment across Wales. It is only by doing this that government will be able to restore confidence in its ability to support environmental activity on farms ahead of the introduction of the Sustainable Farming Scheme in 2025.”
