THE Welsh uplands are the very reason why Wales exists, the vice chairman of the Farmers’ Union of Wales’ hill farming committee told an Assembly inquiry today.
“They not only symbolise Wales but also define Wales,” Bedwyr Jones, who farms on the slopes of Snowdon, told the Assembly‘s rural development sub-committee visiting Tregaron as part of its inquiry into the future of the Welsh uplands.
“Many of those here today have travelled from all over Wales to get to Tregaron, and the vast majority of those journeys will have been spent travelling through the uplands. This reflects the fact that the uplands not only symbolise Wales, but also define Wales.
“The uplands dominate our country, and are the very reason why Wales exists. When we talk about the future of the uplands we are, therefore, talking about the future of what defines Wales in terms of our landscape, our culture, and our communities.”
He reminded the sub-committee that the FUW is ‘privileged to share a site’ with the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, near Aberystwyth.
“Many of you will remember the institution when it was called the Plant Breeding Station – or the PBS,” he said.
“One of the driving forces behind the establishment of the PBS, almost ninety years ago, was the recognition of the need to prevent rural depopulation. In Wales, that primarily means depopulation of the uplands.
“And there can be little doubt that the PBS did crucial work that reduced the rate of depopulation by making upland farming more sustainable, as did later moves such as the 1946 Hill Farming Act, and the 1951 Livestock Rearing Act.
“Such measures not only helped sustain farming families in the uplands – they also sustained the landscape and environment of the uplands since even our most remote regions are a product of agricultural management.
“While the interdependence of agriculture and nature has long been recognised, scientists are, even now, discovering new relationships and dangers that exist for our flora and fauna as a result of decreasing farming activities in our uplands.
“The Less Favoured Area Tir Mynydd scheme has long served to prevent such reductions in agricultural activities, and it is regretful that the Welsh Assembly has decided to replace it with a more burdensome and bureaucratic scheme that may severely disadvantage the uplands.
“However, the FUW is committed to doing what it can to minimise the impact of Glastir, and is urging the Assembly to do all it can to ensure that the delivery of the scheme does not disadvantage Wales’s upland communities.
“Losing those communities, for which farming represents the financial, social, and cultural hub, means losing our landscapes and environments, and I do not believe that this is something any stakeholder wishes to see.”
