NFU Cymru seeks 'urgent meeting' with Wales' new First Minister

NFU Cymru has requested an 'urgent meeting' with Wales' new First Minister Vaughan Gething to discuss the 'very considerable challenges' facing farmers.

Mr Gething, who replaced Mark Drakeford as leader of Welsh Labour, faces the wrath of the industry as concerns rise over the controversial Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).

This has led to mass protests across Wales, as well as the creation of a symbolic display of 5,500 pairs of wellies on the steps of the Senedd, representing the 5,500 jobs forecast to be lost if the SFS goes ahead.

NFU Cymru called on Mr Gething, who is a trained vet and whose mother is a chicken farmer from Zambia, to "offer solutions that benefit farmers, Welsh government and the people of Wales".

The union's president Aled Jones said: “The sector of the economy which I represent is facing some very considerable challenges at the moment.

"There is frustration and despair around the proposals contained in the Sustainable Farming Scheme consultation, which is in need of a major overhaul."

Welsh farm leaders have long warned of the impacts of aspects of the proposals contained within the SFS outline – not least the 10% tree planting and habitat requirements – on the sector’s viability.

The findings of the Welsh government’s own impact assessment modelling for the SFS continues to send shockwaves throughout the industry.

It forecasts that 5,500 jobs would be lost, as well as a £200m hit to farm business income and 11% less livestock in Wales.

The industry is also concerned about the administrative and cost requirements of complying with regulations around water quality, as well as the impact caused by bovine TB.

The cumulation of these factors and the stresses which accompanies them has contributed to a sense of anxiety, NFU Cymru warned in its letter to Mr Gething.

"It is against this backdrop of an industry which is in a state of considerable upheaval, that I have requested an urgent meeting with the First Minister in order to discuss the issues," Mr Jones said.

“I am very much of the view that it is only through dialogue and genuine partnership working that we can try and work our way through some of the difficulties farming and government face."