A farming union has been accused of undertaking a "misleading campaign" in relation to the end of direct support in Wales.
In an open letter to Welsh farmers, Rural Affairs Secretary, Lesley Griffiths criticised the Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) for their "unhelpful" campaign against the Welsh government's plan for post-Brexit support.
Ms Griffiths said the two separate funds which will replace the EU's land-based payments are "vital".
The new schemes will replace Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), Glastir and other parts of the Rural Development Programme.
The programme will consist of the Economic Resilience Scheme, which will provide investment to farmers and their supply chains to increase competitiveness and make improvements in food productivity.
The second fund, the Public Goods Scheme, will provide a new income stream to farmers delivering public goods from the land.
According to the Welsh government, the current BPS is "insufficiently targeted" to respond to challenges as it is solely an income support scheme.
But the FUW has been critical of the proposals. Nick Fenwick, director of policy with the FUW, told the BBC the union is "within their right" to highlight "huge potential flaws".
"We are within our rights to highlight huge potential flaws in what they have put forward as a proposal, given the uncertainty around Brexit," he said.
'Do things differently'
Following a recent FUW campaign urging farmers to respond to government's proposals, the Cabinet Secretary is writing to all farmers to explain the need for change.
Ms Griffiths said: “Brexit means we have to do things differently. Simply maintaining current payments cannot offset the negative impacts from leaving the European Union. Keeping the system would leave Welsh farmers worse off.
“There is no debate on whether we should support farmers: we will and we will continue to protect the funding. But we need to provide support in a different way to keep farmers on the land.
“I am open to new ideas and this is a genuine consultation. But I am clear that ‘business as usual’ is not an option.”
She added: “We need farmers to engage properly with us to help make this work, so the recent misleading FUW campaign is not helpful. That is why I am today writing to all farmers to reiterate the case for change. I have also shared with them a myth-busting factsheet.”
The Welsh government says the new schemes could be fully in place by 2025.
