A remark by the First Minister suggesting farming contributes "less than 1%" to Wales’ GDP has sparked backlash, with rural leaders warning it misrepresents agriculture’s true economic and environmental value.
Eluned Morgan was responding to a question from local Senedd Member Samuel Kurtz ahead of an updated statement on the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) expected next week.
He asked: “First Minister, how confident are you that this latest version of the SFS will not spark a large-scale protest on the Senedd steps?”
The First Minister agreed that “the agricultural community needs to be supported”, but said “and, boy, are they supported - £250 million of funding per annum.”
She remarked: “That’s quite a big amount of support for a sector that contributes less than 1 per cent to the GDP of the country.”
CLA Cymru, which represents landowners and rural businesses, has criticised the comments as “deeply misleading” and says they fail to acknowledge the foundational role agriculture plays.
Victoria Bond, director of CLA Cymru, said the comments reveals a lack of understanding about the structure of the Welsh rural economy.
She said: "This statement risks undermining the months of constructive engagement between Welsh government and rural stakeholders in developing the Sustainable Farming Scheme.
"Farming may represent a modest proportion of direct GDP, but it is the bedrock of a wider supply chain worth billions – from food processing and exports to tourism and environmental delivery."
She added: "If we reduce agriculture to a line on a GVA chart, we miss its vital function: sustaining 90% of our landscape, underpinning our food security, and delivering the raw materials and stewardship that so much of our national economy depends on."
Thomas Homfray, vice-chair of the landowner body, also criticised the framing of the First Minister’s comments, calling GDP a flawed measure of rural value.
“Assessing value on the basis of GDP is hopelessly reductive – a short-termist, superficial approach that has contributed to many of the crises we now face," he said.
"It also directly contradicts the Welsh government’s own curriculum, where my children have spent the year learning about the critical importance of food production and nature recovery.
"Does the First Minister not see farming and the countryside as essential to the solution? Rural Wales is not a cost centre; it is a strategic asset that delivers value across all fronts.”
CLA Cymru is now calling for cross-party recognition of the real-world economic and environmental contribution of farming and rural land use ahead of the Royal Welsh Show, where it will officially launch its rural manifesto in the lead-up to the 2026 Senedd elections.
The manifesto includes six proposals aimed at helping the next Welsh government unlock the economic potential of rural Wales through farming, land use, housing, tourism, energy, and digital infrastructure.
With 74% of the Welsh electorate living in rural communities, CLA Cymru says the future of the nation will depend on political leaders truly understanding and investing in the countryside.
