Farm leaders in Wales are pushing for an early meeting with new rural affairs secretary Huw Irranca-Davies to address concerns with the Welsh government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) proposals.
Former Defra minister and shadow farm minister Mr Irranca-Davies replaced Lesley Griffiths as the new cabinet secretary for climate change and rural affairs, when new first minister Vaughan Gething announced his ministerial team on Thursday (21 March).
See also: New first minister must reset farm policies, says NFU Cymru
Wrexham MS Ms Griffiths has been moved from rural affairs to cabinet secretary for culture and social justice, after almost eight years in her previous role. Farmers had held a protest outside her constituency office in Wrexham last month to express their anger and frustration over the SFS proposals.
NFU Cymru president Aled Jones and deputy president Abi Reader met Mr Irranca-Davies during an SFS drop-in session hosted by the union at the Senedd earlier this week when they shared their key questions with him.
The farm leaders said they looked forward to meeting Mr Irranca-Davies again at the earliest opportunity to discuss solutions to the numerous challenges facing Welsh farmers.
Mr Jones said top policy priorities for the cabinet secretary to address include the union’s concerns around the SFS proposals, the emotional and financial impact of Welsh government bovine TB policy and the need to review the “unworkable” water quality regulations Welsh farmers are subject to.
The Welsh government’s SFS proposals include a requirement for all farms in Wales to devote at least 10% of land to tree cover, plus a further 10% to biodiversity actions to be eligible for payments.
The Farmers’ Union of Wales said the Welsh government must have an “urgent rethink” on its SFS proposals and the wider, longstanding issues of bovine TB and nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZs).
Reaction to appointment
George Dunn, chief executive of the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA), welcomed the appointment of Mr Irranca-Davies as rural affairs secretary.
“The TFA has worked constructively with him in his many past roles, including as a Defra minister and most recently on the Senedd committee, and I am sure we will do so again now,” said Mr Dunn on social media platform X.
Shadow rural affairs minister and Welsh Conservative MS Samuel Kurtz said: “The burning issues in his [Huw Irranca-Davies] in-tray will be the Sustainable Farming Scheme, bovine TB, NVZ regulations and the currently broken relationship between rural Wales and the Welsh government.”
