The Welsh government has announced it will set up a Tenancy Working Group in Wales to explore specific issues affecting the tenanted sector in accessing post-Brexit schemes.
The Minister for Rural Affairs said the new group would be created following the publication of the outline of Wales' Sustainable Farming Scheme, due in July.
The Welsh government plans to phase out the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and phase in the Sustainable Farming Scheme from 2025.
But the introduction of new agricultural policy has left many tenant farmers apprehensive as to how these changes may affect them in the future.
An estimated 30 percent of land in Wales is under some form of tenancy agreement.
Because of this, Minister Lesley Griffiths has agreed to NFU Cymru’s request for a new group to ease tenant farmers' concerns.
The minister acknowledged that it would be ‘helpful’ in considering potential barriers to scheme entry for all types of tenancy arrangements.
Last month, NFU Cymru held a tenants’ seminar where it called for the formation of a group to explore the specific issues affecting the Welsh tenanted sector.
The union asked for a new group to explore the full range of tenancy and rental agreements those farmers work within, ensuring these priorities were factored into future policy development.
NFU Cymru president, Aled Jones said it was 'pleasing' that Welsh government had agreed to establish a new Tenant Working Group to address specifics within the tenanted sector.
“I was also really pleased to see the Minister, in her letter to NFU Cymru, once again reiterate her position that ‘if the Sustainable Farming Scheme does not work for the tenanted sector then it does not work at all’", he said.
“NFU Cymru will continue to work closely with Welsh government to ensure that policy reform works for all Welsh farmers and the broad range of land tenure we have here in Wales.”
In England, the recently announced Tenancy Working Group will also provide tenant farmers an opportunity to make sure post-Brexit schemes work within agricultural tenancies.
A report will be published by the group later this year, Defra said in late January, setting out the main conclusions and providing a set of recommendations to government.
