Senedd committee launches blistering attack on SFS proposals
Huw Irranca-Davies © Debbie James Senior members of the Senedd have launched a blistering attack on Wales’s upcoming farm support scheme, describing it as “beset with delays, miscommunication and unprecedented levels of concern about whether it can deliver”.
As the Royal Welsh Show opened at Llanelwedd, Powys today (Monday 22 July), a Senedd committee published a scathing report on the Welsh government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).
Everything from the scheme’s design and the methodology of payments to its targets for tree cover and how those can be met were criticised by the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs committee’s report.
See also: Cabinet resignations ‘won’t derail Welsh SFS plans’
Support for new entrants and tenant farmers has been largely ignored, it suggests.
The committee says its report raises important questions for the Welsh government regarding how it can make the SFS accessible to all farmers, and how it can strike a balance between protecting future farming and food production and measures needed to tackle climate and nature emergencies.
Committee chairman Paul Davies said farmers’ concerns had been consistently raised, but the government “simply isn’t listening”.
“At this year’s Royal Welsh show it will be almost a year since the Welsh government’s Agriculture Act became law and delays on implementing it remain,” he said.
“For those involved in farming, and for those working to protect our environment, this uncertainty is worrying.”
Tree cover alternatives
Separately, the Senedd Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure committee carried out an inquiry into the SFS, focusing in part on the scheme’s most controversial aspect, the requirement for farms to have 10% tree cover.
Its report is due to be published today and is expected to say that alternatives to the tree cover requirement should be explored, provided they deliver the intended results of helping Wales achieve its climate change targets.
Committee chairman Llyr Gruffydd said the government “has a lot of work to do” before the SFS was ready to be rolled out.
“With the Welsh government now having worked on these plans for close to a decade, it’s imperative that solutions are found so that a workable scheme can be up and running for 2026,” he said.
‘Preparatory year’
Rural affairs minister Huw Irranca-Davies, who is at the showground today meeting farmers, doesn’t see the one-year pause in the SFS rollout as a delay, calling it a “preparatory year”.
He told Farmers Weekly: “This is not going to be a year of delay, it is going to be a year of trying things, exploring evidence and then bringing forward solutions, but again bringing forward solutions that work for every farmer and bringing forward solutions that are worked through on the evidence and within intense collaboration.”
Welsh Conservatives propose SFS alternative
A farm support scheme offering a baseline payment of 70% for farmers is being proposed by the Welsh Conservatives, to roll out should the party get into power in the Senedd in 2026.
As an alternative to the SFS, the party is proposing the Welsh Farming and Countryside Scheme (WFCS), and is considering a number of key actions within that, including a baseline payment similar to that paid in Scotland.
It is consulting on what the final scheme should look like, including whether there should be a qualifying minimum size requirement for farm support and if farmers should be paid for providing access to public rights of way.
The consultation is also looking at how common land use should be addressed, the definition of an active farmer and how best to protect and sustainably manage sites of special scientific interest.
Shadow rural affairs minister James Evans said the party will include the proposed scheme in its manifesto for the 2026 Senedd elections.
“The WFCS isn’t just about meeting environmental targets, it’s about securing the future of Welsh farming, protecting our rural heritage, and supporting our local economies,’’ Mr Evans said.
“These proposals are not set in stone and, following engagement from the industry, we will make the necessary amendments, as if the scheme does not work for our active farmers, it does not work for anyone.’’
Have your say on the WFCS consultation on the Welsh Conservatives’ website.