Welsh farmers demand ‘major overhaul’ of SFS plans

Farm unions in Wales are demanding a major overhaul of the proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), following publication of the Welsh government’s response to the consultation it ran earlier this year.

According to an independent analysis of responses received from more than 12,000 individuals – of which 72% were farmers – opposition to the plans for future farm support remains strong.

See also: Can Welsh tree cover plans work for farmers?

“Many responses were concerned that the scheme was overly complex, with too many actions to carry out,” the document said.

“Opposition to the woodland requirement [for farms to have 10% tree cover] was clear for the majority of the responses.”

The document also said farmers wanted a greater focus on food production, rather than on the environment, although proposals for a “stability payment” received more support.

Union reaction

Commenting on the findings, NFU Cymru president Aled Jones said there was a “clear need for a major overhaul of the SFS consultation proposals”.

“NFU Cymru remains clear the SFS must move beyond a scheme focused predominantly on the delivery of environmental outcomes and instead become a genuine agricultural policy that underpins food production in an increasingly volatile world,” he said.

The universal baseline payments needed to be “practical and achievable for all farm types”, and should go beyond “costs incurred/income foregone” payments, to give proper incentives for farmers to deliver for society.

Farmers’ Union of Wales president Ian Rickman also called for significant changes to the SFS proposals, to provide “stability for our food producing family farms in Wales”.

“The industry’s voice has been loud and clear, and it has been a challenging process to get this far for everyone involved,” he said.

Government response

Meanwhile, Welsh rural affairs secretary Huw Irranca-Davies confirmed that no decisions on the SFS have yet been made and that the scheme “will only be introduced when it is ready”.

“We intend for the SFS to commence in 2026, and this will be preceded by a preparatory phase in 2025, providing advice and support to farmers,” he said.

The BPS will be paid in full in 2025.

Mr Irranca-Davies also revealed that the ministerial roundtable of industry stakeholders had already had two meetings this year, as had the Carbon Sequestration Equivalence Panel, set up to look at alternative ways of sequestering more carbon.

This is seen as a particularly important vehicle to enable the Welsh government to dilute its unpopular 10% tree cover proposal.

The government’s consultation response document said: “We will continue to work with the ministerial roundtable, and specifically the Carbon Sequestration Evidence Review Panel, to review these proposals.

“No decisions will be taken, for example on the 10% scheme rules, until this work has concluded.”