TFA CYMRU, The Tenant Farmers Association in Wales, has welcomed the principles for future farm policy in Wales set out by the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths AM.
TFA Chief Executive George Dunn said “The Cabinet Secretary has recognised the significant and swift changes that are on the horizon for the farming community and we welcome her determination to ensure that farming continues to be supported as a vital component of the rural economy within Wales. Her reference to farming acting as the ‘social anchor’ of many communities within Wales demonstrates her understanding of the important role that agriculture plays in delivering benefits for the whole of Welsh society.”
“We agree that the significant differences between farming in England and Wales requires the maximum amount of flexibility within the devolution settlement whilst respecting the need to ensure that we have a properly functioning UK single market in which farmers in Wales can continue to do business with other parts of the UK without restriction,” said Mr Dunn.
“TFA Cymru has been particularly active in ensuring that any new Government policy must be focused on active farmers and, for the tenanted sector in particular, we do not want to see any future support becoming capitalised into land rents, land values or otherwise hived off by non-active land owners. The determination of the Cabinet Secretary to keep land managers on the land chimes fully with TFA Cymru policy in this area,” said Mr Dunn.
“TFA Cymru will work constructively with the Welsh Government in pursuing its plans for food production and in assisting farmers to compete in a global marketplace trading on the benefits of ‘brand Wales’. It is vitally important in this respect that we look at the whole of the supply chain to ensure that it is operating as fairly and as competitively as possible,” said Mr Dunn.
“Understandably there is a desire to develop a system of future support based on public payments for public goods and we are pleased that the Cabinet Secretary sees this policy going hand in hand in ensuring the profitability and resilience of Welsh farms,” said Mr Dunn.
“Much will depend on the financial settlement that Wales achieves in terms of the Brexit dividend and TFA Cymru accepts that change is coming. We will want to ensure that farm tenants are able to have the same opportunity to access and benefit from the help and support available alongside their owner occupier neighbours,” said Mr Dunn.
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