The Party of Wales Shadow Agriculture Minister, Llyr Gruffydd AM, has written an open letter to the new Deputy Minister for Agriculture urging her to take positive action to demonstrate her support for the industry.
The letter also outlines which areas Plaid Cymru considers need urgent attention from her department and should be prioritised over the coming months.
With farm incomes having dropped by 44% over the past year, the previous Minister’s decision to slash direct payments to farmers caused serious damage to relationships between the industry and the Welsh Government but the changes in the Government’s cabinet portfolios present opportunities to rebuild those relationships.
In the letter to the Deputy Minister, Mr Gruffydd criticised the previous Minister’s proposal to introduce a table valuation system for compensating farmer affected by bovine TB, and urged the new Deputy Minister to listen to the concerns of farmers, veterinarians, valuers and others and act accordingly.
He added his concerns about the falling price of lamb, beef and milk:
“The price of beef and milk has been an on-going issue for Welsh farmers and more recently the price of lamb has taken a hit as well. Ensuring farmers are paid a fair price for their product is vital for the farming sector and for the food sector as a whole.
“It is crucial that you work with supermarkets in particular to ensure Welsh produce is widely available, well-labelled and fairly priced and I would urge you to work with your colleague the Minister for Business, Economy, Agriculture, Science and Transport to promote Welsh produce in other parts of the UK and overseas.”
Commenting on the letter, Mr Gruffydd said:
“Welsh farmers have had a particularly tough time over recent years. Having seen their incomes drop by 44% last year, the announcements by the previous Minister to transfer the maximum amount of direct payments away from them was not well-received. While it is too late for the new Deputy Minister to change course on this decision, she has an opportunity to act positively to repair the broken relationship between government and the farming sector.
“Moorland farmers have been particularly disadvantaged by the decisions taken by her predecessor on Single Farm Payment rates. The Government must recognise the particular difficulties facing these farmers by introducing a new Area of Natural Constraint payment.
“It is important that the Deputy Minister makes urgent progress on the matters that have the greatest impact on the viability of the sector and I sincerely hope that she is open to working with the opposition to ensure farmers are adequately supported through what are increasingly tough conditions for Welsh farmers.”
