The issue of the heavy bureaucratic burden impacting Welsh agriculture has not been examined since a Welsh Government-sponsored review back in 2011.
NFU Cymru is now calling for the next Welsh Government to commission a deep dive into the regulatory environment impacting our primary producers, as matter of urgency, early on in its new term.
The union believes that such a review needs to be independent, ambitious and all- encompassing, forming an important first step towards a policy, regulatory and planning environment which supports and enables farm businesses, rather than holding them back.
Rationalising and reviewing
Bringing to life this key ask from the union’s Growing Forward Senedd Elections manifesto is NFU Cymru’s Less Favoured Area (LFA) Board Chair Kath Whitrow.
In this latest video from the union’s series of pre-election case studies, Kath Whitrow exhorts those seeking election to Cardiff Bay, and those who will form the next Welsh Government, to ensure an early priority is made of reviewing red-tape and rationalising the way in which the industry is regulated.
Kath emphasises the need to ensure that processes which don’t deliver real added value and which add costs to the producer and consumer alike are examined as part of this review.
Cutting costs is key
Kath Whitrow said: “We are long overdue a review of the red-tape, bureaucracy and regulatory processes. Regulation and red-tape are a cost to the industry in terms of both time and money - and that cost ultimately ends up with the consumer. There is a real cost of living challenge for the public right now and we need to cut as much cost out of this industry as possible.
“Welsh agriculture is the foundation stone of the Welsh food and drink sector. We really need to be ambitious in how we support that industry, so that is is able to continue to grow and deliver for Wales.”
In its 2026 election manifesto Growing Forward, NFU Cymru is calling for the establishment of an independent review group to consider the cumulative burden of regulations on Welsh farming.
