Welsh Agriculture Bill heralded as ‘significant step forward’ for farming

The Bill, the development of which has been led by the Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths, will now seek Royal Assent, and if approved, is expected to come into force in Wales later this summer.

It sets out the legislative framework for future agricultural support in Wales, which will be administered via the proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS). The Bill also provides members of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) with the power to ensure continued support for farmers during a transition period, reflecting the Cooperation Agreement commitment with Plaid Cymru.

Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths commented: “This is an important moment for our farmers, our agriculture sector, and Wales as a whole. At the heart of the Bill lie objectives to support the economic, environmental, and social sustainability of the Welsh agricultural sector.

“Today’s vote means we can now move ahead with delivering a system of support developed in Wales which works for Wales, including the Sustainable Farming Scheme to commence in 2025.”

The Bill, which was developed in conjunction with farmers, also provides a more equal footing to the tenanted sector, ensuring tenant farmers can benefit from financial support. Additionally, it proposes a complete ban on snares and glue traps, making Wales the first nation in the UK to introduce such as ban.

NFU Cymru has welcomed news of the Bill passing its final stage of Senedd scrutiny, saying it represents a ‘significant step forward’ in developing a made in Wales, for Wales’ agricultural support policy.

The Union’s president Aled Jones commented: “The passing of the Agriculture Bill into law will offer a once in a generation opportunity to devise and implement the right agricultural support policies for Wales. Opportunities to legislate, develop policy and put agriculture and rural Wales on the right path and the surest foundation must be fully seized.”

Mr Jones said NFU Cymru is looking forward to working with the Welsh government on developing the finer details of future support schemes, which it said must contain an element of stability and flexibility to provide adequate support at times of crisis.

He added: “With family farms forming the backbone of our rural and wider communities, we must have a scheme which delivers for our economy, landscape, language and culture whilst also underpinning the top-quality food production, which makes our farmers lynchpins in a food supply chain which sustains a multi-billion-pound food and drink industry and hundreds of thousands of jobs.”

Meanwhile, Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) was pleased to see that consideration for the economic viability of agricultural businesses were included in the Bill, although it would have preferred to see some changes relating to new entrants taken further.

“We remain disappointed that amendments tabled to explicitly include support for new and young entrants were unsuccessful, as in order to have a sustainable, thriving industry we must open doors to new entrants,” an FUW spokesperson said.