Cut to Wales' farming budget branded a 'Brexit betrayal'

Wales' agricultural budget will decline by £95m for the coming financial year (Photo: James Veysey/Shutterstock)

The government's decision to slash Wales' agricultural budget has been branded a 'Brexit betrayal' by the country's farm leaders.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed in Wednesday’s (25 November) spending review that the budget would be cut by at least £95m for the coming financial year.

Following a 2019 Conservative manifesto promise, the Wales’ agricultural and rural development budget was expected to have been £337 million.

But the 2021-2022 budget will now be £242m - a cut of around 28% - while the full loss when projected Rural Development Programme (RDP) spend and the 15% pillar transfer is taken into account is £137m.

The NFU said the announcement was 'unacceptable' and 'not consistent with the government's levelling up agenda'.

"The UK government must preserve existing levels of funding for Welsh agriculture," NFU President Minette Batters said.

It comes just days after devolved regions - Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - wrote to Defra Secretary George Eustice urging him to provide assurancesthat the budget for agriculture would be maintained.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) said the news amounted to a 'betrayal of the farmers who have kept producing food' throughout the pandemic.

“The 2019 Conservative Manifesto stated 'we will guarantee the current annual budget to farmers in every year of the next Parliament’, thereby securing the votes of many farmers in Welsh constituencies,” noted FUW president Glyn Roberts.

He added that this pledge was repeated by leaders of the Brexit campaign, many of whom now occupy the highest offices of government.

The EU's Direct Payments make up around 80% of average Welsh farm incomes, and any cut in funding would leave a 'significant impact' on farms, Mr Roberts said.

It comes as a time when farmers are already anticipating problems due to non-tariff barriers, unfair competition from sub-standard imports and the possibility of EU tariff barriers in the event of a 'no-deal'.

The need to ensure a UK-EU trade deal was highlighted in a joint Welsh food industry letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson just days before the spending review.

“Farmers, businesses and rural constituents were promised an ‘oven-ready deal’, minimum trade friction and that the agricultural budget would be maintained," Mr Roberts said.

"What has transpired can only be described as a Brexit betrayal that will have far-reaching consequences for family farms, rural businesses and communities.”