Wales' rural affairs budget will seen an increase of 14% after previous concerns were raised that the funding would fall by £9 million.
The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) had voiced its concern that the Welsh government draft budget for rural affairs for 2023-24 would decrease.
However, in the final budget for the 2023-24 period, which was published last month, the rural affairs budget now sits at £482 million.
This is 23% more than the allocation for rural affairs for 2022-23, and £26m more than the indicative budget from March 2022.
With UK Consumer Price Inflation sitting at around 9% for the 12 months to January, this represents a real terms increase of around 14%.
The FUW said this was 'much welcomed' by farmers in the country, as financial stability and clarity was "essential when it comes to running a business".
The union's president, Glyn Roberts said: “We publicly raised concerns last year regarding potential cuts to the Welsh government’s rural affairs budget and we welcome the fact that these concerns have been addressed."
However, Mr Roberts said it was 'essential' for the Welsh government to spend this budget 'responsibly'.
"Welsh agriculture is facing huge challenges in terms of an acute rise in input costs as well as the costs of new regulations introduced by the Welsh government.
“We have also lost around £250 million from the CAP replacement due to the UK government’s decision to cut what we would normally have received from the EU.
"It is essential that this extra allocation to the rural affairs budget is used to fund actions and interventions which make up for these significant losses.”
