Hundreds of NFU Cymru members attended the roadshows, sponsored by Barclays Bank, to make their views known on the current Welsh Government Brexit and Our Land consultation document.
The meetings, chaired by NFU Cymru President, John Davies, began with presentations from the NFU Cymru policy team, who explained the consultation proposals and the current Brexit political landscape - then the views of members were sought. The roadshows are part of a comprehensive member engagement programme that the Union is running during the consultation period.
NFU Cymru President, John Davies, said: “Members have flooded into our roadshow events this week and have positively engaged in discussions on the most important consultation in our generation. I am immensely proud to be the President of a Union representing such passionate and ambitious farmers, all united around a common goal of being proud to produce safe, high quality, traceable and affordable food for the consumer.”
“The consultation, time and time again, refers to a future land management programme designed to support land managers. Let us be clear, each and every one of us is proud to be called a farmer, farmers are much more than land managers, we have a wide range of skills that all contribute to making our businesses successful. The rather narrow definition of land managers, used in the consultation, does not adequately cover the role that we play in underpinning rural communities and the economy of Wales. Farming and food production must be at the core of future policy in Wales and policy must be targeted at those who are taking the financial and business risks associated with producing food.
“Two years ago, immediately following the referendum result, NFU Cymru undertook our own comprehensive member consultation exercise and as result of that feedback we developed a vision document for a future Welsh Agricultural Policy. This week our members reiterated their support for our policy that is built around three cornerstones; productivity, environment and stability. Members were united in their concerns that the current consultation proposals only seek to introduce measures to address two of these three cornerstones.
“Farmers can only invest in productivity and environment measures if their business has a stable foundation. Direct payments have been crucial in providing that stability and similar measures must be a part of future agricultural policy in Wales. How these measures have been delivered in Wales have changed and evolved significantly over the years and this week our members have expressed their willingness to consider further evolution, providing that the measures continue to deliver the much needed stability that the industry requires.
“Welsh Government has said that this is a genuine consultation and that they want to hear the views of farmers. The message from farmers this week cannot have been clearer, farmers want to be called farmers and they want our Government to put food production at the heart of future farming policy in Wales.
“It’s clear that our farmers are hugely ambitious and see the potential opportunity to put Wales as a food producing nation on the world stage, however Welsh Government also needs to be ambitious and put in place a policy that gives farmers the backing and tools to realise this ambition.”
NFU Cymru Deputy President, Aled Jones, said: “As farmers we accept change, we embrace change but we must be the architects of that change. Welsh Government needs to listen and act on our views. As an industry we must all work together to positively influence the direction of this consultation to put in place a policy that is made in Wales - for Wales, to realise our ambition of a productive, progressive and profitable industry. Never has it been more important for each and every one of us to play our part in making sure that farmers’ voices are heard as part of this consultation.”
NFU Cymru would like to thank Barclays Bank for kindly sponsoring the series of roadshows across Wales.