Tag: Wales

Welsh Future Farm Policy

Lesley Griffiths, Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs has announced five ‘core principles’ to underpin future agricultural policy in Wales:

  • Keeping land managers on the land – seen as pivotal to maintaining communities and the rural economy
  • Food production – remains ‘vital’; future policy gives the chance to advance an already thriving food and drink industry.  The Cabinet Secretary has said there is no need to choose between food production and public goods.  Targeted to support will be available for sustainable and economic production to help Welsh farmers compete in a global market place.
  • Delivering public goods for all the people of Wales – the Welsh landscapes is key to the Welsh brand, vital for food and tourism
  • Land managers must have access to support – farmers must be able to continue to make a living from the land, but there will be no ‘automatic payment’ and they will be asked to do ‘different things’ in return for support.  This seems to suggest that direct payments will be removed.  This is the first clear indication that Wales might follow the lead of DEFRA in this respect. 
  • The delivery of support will need to be changed – it is recognised that current support, provided by the Basic Payment Scheme, needs to be changed to ensure the agricultural sector can be ‘prosperous and resilient’ post Brexit.

The Welsh Assembly will now hold ‘intensive stakeholder’ meetings to deliver these principles, with initial proposals for reform being ready before the summer recess.  With England having already launched a consultation on its proposals, it would appear that Wales is a little behind the curve, but to the Welsh Government’s defence it is probably waiting to see what ‘powers’ it has over future farm policy following any Brexit devolution settlement.  The announcement states that the ‘case for devolution is stronger than ever’ and that the composition of the farming sector in Wales is different to other areas of the UK, particularly England.  Scotland appears to be even further behind, as there has been no announcements or consultations yet on the shape of future support.  Again, it has been said the Scottish Government is also is waiting to find out the extent of its powers on farm policy.  However, some believe the administration is happy to remain vague on future policy, as whatever plans are proposed, they are likely to ‘upset’ somebody.

Welsh Young Entrants Scheme

Welsh Cabinet Secretary, Lesley Griffiths, has announced a new £6 million initiative to support young entrants into farming.  The new scheme called ‘Young People into Agriculture’ will offer financial support to ‘high achieving’ young entrants looking to start a business in farming or develop an existing one.  Successful applicants will need to be able to show they have the right characteristics to lead ‘dynamic businesses’  and ‘drive change in the wider industry’.

Curiously, the details of the initiative are no longer available on the Government’s website but we expect the scheme will offer £40,000 to 150 individuals, to be used as working capital.  The grant will be paid in three installments up until 31st March 2020 subject to agreed Key Performance Indicators being met.  Eligible applicants must be under 40 years old on 1st April 2018 and must either setup as head of a holding for the first time by 1st September 2018, or have become head of a holding for the first time in the 12 months preceding 1st April 2018.

The scheme will be competitive and applicants will be scored against set criteria with points being awarded according to business type, business structure, academic qualifications, level of Continued Professional Development (CPD) and strength of the business plan.

The scheme is expected to be open for Expressions of Interest between 1st April and 31st May 2018.

In addition there will be a Young People in Agriculture Forum to compliment the scheme.  This will allow young people involved in agriculture to express their views and help develop future policies.

 

Welsh BPS Updates

Changes to Land

In Wales, the Field Management (FM4) paper forms used to to report changes to land have been replaced.  ‘Manage My Land’ on the RPW Online system should now be used instead of the paper forms.  Any changes to land should be submitted via ‘Manage My Land’ within 30 days of the change taking place.

Entitlements

The transfer of BPS entitlements can be made via the forms available on applicants’ RPW Online account.  The notification deadline of transfers for entitlements to be available for the 2018 scheme year is 30th April in Wales.

Welsh NVZs

It is looking increasingly likely that the whole of Wales will be designated as a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ).  Lesley Griffiths, Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs has said she is ‘minded to introduce a whole Wales approach to tackling nitrate pollution from agriculture‘.  However, it is unclear what the new rules will be under the new designation and whether they will be as stringent as they currently are in the areas of Wales (and England) already designated as NVZs.  The Welsh Government has said over the coming months it will ‘work with stakeholders to get the right balance of regulatory measures, voluntary initiatives and investment’.  It has also said that it will explore options to provide flexibility, where the outcomes achieved are the same or better than via a regulatory approach.

The announcement comes following the Welsh Government’s consultation last year on the ‘Review of the Designated Areas and Action Programme to Tackle Nitrate Pollution in Wales’.  Just under 60% of responses supported a whole-Wales designation.  A summary of responses will be available in the New Year.