Brexit gives chance for Welsh farmers to adopt a 'made-in-Wales approach'
Brexit gives the chance for Welsh farmers to adopt a "made-in-Wales" approach for the future of the industry, Rural Affairs Secretary Lesley Griffiths has said.
She will be meeting senior figures from the agricultural and food industries at the Royal Welsh Show near Builth Wells.
Ms Griffiths said she had seen a "real readiness to work together".
With farming fully devolved, Ms Griffiths said it was a chance to create policies and regulations "tailor made for Wales' unique needs".
Ms Griffiths will hold a roundtable meeting with representatives of Wales' rural affairs and environment sector to discuss the implications of Britain's impending withdrawal from the EU.
"I can't see how there wouldn't be a subsidy scheme, so while it's very uncertain, there are things that will have to happen."
Continue to receive CAP
The leader of Plaid Cymru, Leanne Wood, has called on the farming community in Wales to maximise the benefits of EU membership whilst Wales remains a part of the organisation.
She said that Welsh farmers will continue to receive CAP support through the Basic Payment Scheme and enjoy tariff-free trade with the EU as long as Wales is a member of it and urgers farmers to make the most of it.
Leanne Wood said we must also work towards the best deal for Welsh farmers and that means making the case to maintain the level of financial support they currently receive.
Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said: "Plaid Cymru was not in favour of leaving the European Union, but now that the people of Wales have taken that decision we need to ensure that we maximise the opportunities we have.
"Welsh farmers continue to have access to European funding until we leave the EU, and the Welsh Government should be working to maximise the potential of this money.
"But when that funding ends, we need to ensure that the level of support afforded to Welsh farmers in direct payments is at least as much after we leave the EU as it is now.
"During the EU referendum campaign, Welsh farmers were promised that the direct payment support they receive will be at least equal to that received through the Common Agricultural Policy.
"They were also told that they could continue to trade with the EU according to terms favourable to Welsh businesses.
Under the current EU Common Agricultural Policy, Wales receives approximately £250m per year in direct payments to farmers in addition to more that £500m between 2014-2020 to run a rural development programme.
'Resist temptation' to trigger Article 50
The Farmers Union of Wales President, Glyn Roberts, asked those in power to resist the temptation to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty prematurely.
Speaking at the Royal Welsh Show, he said vast amounts of work needs to be undertaken to repeal, or redraft the 5,500 acts relating to agriculture and the rural economy; the likely timescales over which trade agreements can be negotiated; the risk that elections in France and Germany would impact on negotiation time and the huge job of unravelling the current CAP and our commitments made under the Multi-Annual FInancial Framework.
"We know what we’ve potentially got until 2020, so let’s stick with it. Let’s maximise the return on what is planned.
"Moving at speed towards Brexit brings with it huge risks, so we certainly don’t want speed, but there is certainly a need for haste in terms of what can be done to prepare for a post-Brexit world, and provide as much clarity as possible in terms of removing confusion, uncertainty and rumour," he said.
