Pressure is growing on the Welsh Government to amend key elements of a sustainable farming system amid growing concerns about whether it will work for farmers on the ground and provide long-term stability for rural communities.
In a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Hugh Ilanka-Davies this week, NFU Shimul said he supported the overall framework of the plan, but warned that further changes were needed to deliver the plan to food production, agribusiness and the wider countryside.
The Sustainable Farming System (SFS) is scheduled to officially launch in 2026, with a transition period lasting until 2030, by which time the basic payment system will be completely abolished, increasing the importance of getting the new system in place.
Central to the union’s message was the need for reliable funding, including maintaining the current 70:30 ratio between universal and voluntary or cooperative tiers, and increasing the overall budget to keep pace with inflation.
NFU Cymru chairman Aled Jones said the structure of the system was generally sound, but stressed that unresolved issues risked undermining trust.
“NFU Cymru continues to believe that the sustainable farming system framework is the right one, but we are of the strong view that there is still work to do to evolve this system to ensure it contributes to Welsh agriculture and the communities it supports,” he said.
He said it was heartening that the Deputy Prime Minister recognized the need for further work on voluntary and cooperative elements.
“I was pleased that the Deputy Prime Minister very much shared our view that there is continued work to be done on the voluntary and collaborative parts of this plan,” he said, adding that ministers had been actively listening to concerns about a number of universal actions.
Among the practical issues raised were proposals for mandatory annual training under continuing professional development requirements, possible duplication of animal health and welfare measures with existing farm guarantee schemes, and requirements related to hedge management.
NFU Cymru said these aspects needed to be actionable, avoid unnecessary duplication and give due recognition to existing good practice, including training, already undertaken through organizations such as trade unions.
Turning to the options layer, Mr Jones said NFU Cymru is seeking rapid progress on measures that actively support farm productivity, efficiency and profitability.
“We have impressed on the Deputy Prime Minister the need to bring forward proposals under the optional tier of the SFS that will support measures to increase farm productivity and efficiency, profitability and sustainability of agricultural businesses,” he said.
He added that well-resourced and practical sustainable production proposals are essential to achieving Wales’ food and agriculture sector growth ambitions, particularly given the challenges identified in the Welsh Government’s own economic modeling and impact assessment published earlier this autumn.
The Welsh Government said the SFS aims to balance food production with climate, environmental and social objectives, but NFU Cymru warned that this balance will only be achieved if funding is sufficient and delivered in a way that provides certainty for businesses.
Finally, Mr Jones said universal tiers and associated social value payments must remain at the heart of the plan. “A well-resourced universal tier and social value payments that provide stability to agricultural operations must remain at the heart of the SFS now and in the future,” he said, adding that the government must be committed to maintaining “at a minimum the current 70:30 budget allocation between the universal tier and the optional/cooperative tier”.
Looking ahead, he warned that the plan risks not being delivered without a budget of at least £500m that reflects inflation and policy ambitions. “We need at least a £500 million budget increase to account for inflation and to meet our shared goals for food, climate, environment, communities and language,” he said, warning that failure to address funding could undermine farmer confidence.
