The Farmers’ Union of Wales has described discussions with Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones on the Glastir scheme as “useful and productive”, following a meeting on Friday (18 December) in Aberystwyth.
The Welsh Assembly Government intends replacing Tir Mynydd, a compensatory payment scheme recognising the Less Favoured Area (LFA) status of 80% of Wales’s land, with Glastir, an all -Wales agri -environmental scheme.
During today’s two-and-a-half hour meeting with the Minister, the FUW raised numerous concerns regarding the scheme, and the timetable for its implementation.
Afterwards, FUW president Gareth Vaughan said: “The fact that we spent two and a half hours in discussions with the Minister and her senior staff highlights that we all share a common interest, which is to make Glastir work in the best interests of Welsh farmers and rural Wales.
“The meeting was extremely useful and productive, and gave us the opportunity to raise our concerns face-to-face with the Minister.
“I trust that these have now hit home, and that we will see some changes that will be of benefit to the farming industry.
“However, we made it clear that we still believe the Glastir implementation date should be delayed by 12 months, and Tir Mynydd extended for that period.
“Glastir comprises such a significant change to the distribution of Axis 2 monies that such a delay would give us far more time to iron out the significant issues that have arisen during our negotiations.”
