Welsh Government’s latest white paper policy proposals fall short of providing a true ‘Made in Wales’ policy framework that will allow Welsh farming to thrive in a post-Brexit marketplace, says NFU Cymru.

NFU Cymru president John Davies said: “Our initial analysis of the white paper suggests that very little has changed in this document from the proposals that government set out in its 2018 consultation ‘Brexit and Our Land’ and the ‘Sustainable Farming and Our Land’ update in 2019.

"Government appears to continue to propose that all the economic, social and cultural benefits provided by Welsh farming can, in future, be secured through the sustainable farming scheme, a scheme that is predominantly focussed on environmental outcomes.

“Covid–19 has brought into sharp focus the need for food security for all in society to be embedded as a key objective of government policy, it is disappointing to see that this matter is not recognised in what Welsh Government proposes as a vision for the next 15-20 years.

“Since the EU referendum, NFU Cymru has been clear and consistent in the set of key principles that should form the basis of a new domestic agricultural policy in Wales.

"These include measures to secure the continued supply of safe, high quality, traceable food for all in society; measures that target support at the active farmer and the need for a proportionate and evidence based regulatory regime that ensures Welsh farming can remain competitive with farmers across the UK, the EU and globally.”

He added: “NFU Cymru will now take some time to study the consultation in detail but our initial analysis is that these proposals fall short of providing the framework required to meet the principles and ambition that NFU Cymru has set out for Welsh farming – an ambition for a productive, profitable and progressive sector that delivers for the whole of Wales."