Farmers get political in Brecon and Radnor

The heavy burden of bureaucracy and additional red tape throughout the farming sector were the main focus of an NFU Cymru hustings held in Builth Wells last night when local farmers got the chance to grill their prospective parliamentary candidates ahead of the general election on 6 May.

Prospective candidates: Chris Lloyd, Labour; Clive Easton, UKIP; Nerys Evans, Plaid Cymru; Roger Williams, Liberal Democrats and Suzy Davies, Conservatives, outlined their future plans, if successfully elected, for the agricultural sector in Brecon and Radnor and beyond.

Gwyn Price, NFU Cymru Brecon and Radnor County Chairman said, "Each candidate was questioned on the future direction of the Common Agricultural Policy and many references were made to the much-needed supermarket ombudsman as a way to ensure fairer prices for both producers and consumers. It was however, extremely disappointing that no reference whatsoever was made to securing food production in the UK in the future.

"We as farmers appreciate that there may be a change in the direction of the Common Agricultural Policy over the next few years, but there needs to be a balance between protecting the environment and ensuring that there is sufficient food production in the UK as global demand increases due to the rising global population."

During the debate farmers also questioned each candidate on their party’s budget proposals which would steer the UK out of the current economic downturn.

Gwyn Price concluded, "We had a really good turnout at the meeting and there was an excellent selection of questions put to the candidates. It is absolutely vital that the prospective candidates realise that as a rural constituency, decisions made in Westminster on issues such as fuel duty, curbing the power of supermarkets and rural post offices, have a huge impact on rural businesses and residents in areas such as Brecon and Radnor."