Welsh farmers gear up for mass protest in Cardiff

Thousands of farmers and their families are making plans to stage a mass peaceful protest against Welsh government policies which threaten their livelihoods.

Organisers say between 10,000 and 15,000 people could descend on the Senedd, the Welsh Assembly building in Cardiff Bay, from 12.30pm on Wednesday 28 February.

Numbers may exceed 15,000 if the wider rural community and ancillary farming businesses show their support, as has happened in other recent protests across Wales.

See also: James Herrick: English farmers should back Welsh counterparts

Up to 300 tractors could join the protest, which farmers say is being held to send a clear message to the Welsh Labour administration that their plans for agriculture will devastate the industry.

A spokesman said: “Farmers across Wales feel they need to actively show the Welsh government they are not happy with their plans for agricultural policy.

“The protest is being organised by farmers. They got a group together and said, ‘right, we are going to the Senedd.’”

The farmers are furious at Welsh government proposals to introduce in the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), which will require all farmers in Wales to have at least 10% of their land planted with trees and an additional 10% managed for “natural habitat” to qualify for a baseline payment.

“Farmers are also angry with the Welsh government’s massive mismanagement of bovine TB and and blanket NVZ [Nitrate Vulnerable Zone] regulations,” added the spokesman.

“The SFS proposals are the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Updates on the protest

A Facebook page, called Welsh Farmers’ Protests, has been set up by the organisers to provide updates on the plans for the protest.

Guest speakers, including prominent members of the Welsh farming industry, will deliver speeches on the day outside the Senedd.

The organisers have also invited anyone who is passionate about the Welsh farming industry and who cares about the future of domestic food production to come and show their support for farmers.

South Wales Police are making preparations for as many as 20,000 people to attend and members of the Senedd (MSs) are aware of the protest.

Wednesday’s event follows a number of farmer-led protests across Wales in recent weeks, including a demonstration outside the Wrexham constituency office of Welsh rural affairs secretary Lesley Griffiths.

In England, farmers have staged protests at the port of Dover against cheap food imports.

And in Europe, further large farmer-led protests were held in Paris and Brussels over the weekend against EU green measures, bureaucracy and cheap food imports following months of protests across the Continent.