Failure to recognise food as public good 'rings alarm bells' for farmers

The Welsh government's failure to recognise food as a "public good" rings alarm bells for farmers, according to the Farmers' Union of Wales.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths highlighted on Wednesday (21 March) five core principles she believes should underpin the future of Welsh agriculture and land management.

In her first core principle, Mrs Griffiths said whilst food production remains vital, and is core to Welsh farming values and is emblematic of Wales as a nation, she does not recognise it as a "public good".

Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) President Glyn Roberts said that the Cabinet Secretary’s belief that food was not a public good would "ring alarm bells with farmers".

“I welcome the fact that the Cabinet Secretary describes food production as vital for Wales and places it at the top of her priorities,” Mr Roberts explained.

“However, failing to recognise food production and the wider economic benefits it brings as a public good for Wales and beyond brings with it a number of concerns and dangers.”

Mr Roberts said there also remained a number of important outstanding questions that needed answering regarding the WTO rules in relation to payments for the provision of environmental public goods.

System of support

Other core principles highlighted by Mrs Griffiths include keeping farmers and land managers on the land. The Cabinet Secretary believes strongly this is what is best for Wales's land, communities and rural economy.

The third principle is that a system of support should be developed with a foundation that is robust to future changes in the market environment, centred on Welsh land delivering public goods for all the people of Wales.

The Cabinet Secretary highlights the fact that the diversity and richness of Welsh land means the country has no shortage of public goods to provide; Welsh land is Wales’s biggest asset, providing clean water, clean air, flood management, habitats for rare species and more.

She also believes Wales must look beyond the environment, most notably to how landscapes underpin the Welsh brand, vital for food and tourism.

'Resilient'

The fourth principle is that every farmer must have the opportunity to access support and must be able to continue to make a living from the land.

However, Welsh Government will be asking land managers to do different things in return for support – there can be no universal, automatic payment. She believes this is vital for putting the industry on a secure footing.

The final principle is that Wales needs to ensure its agricultural sector can be prosperous and resilient in a post-Brexit future.

Whilst the Cabinet Secretary acknowledges that the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) provides important support for many of Wales’ farmers, she does not believe it will help Wales withstand the changes brought by Brexit, and believes support needs to be provided in a different way.