Food and farming are among three new “priority sectors” designated for support by the Welsh Government as part of a ‘strong package of measures’ aimed at ensuring the long-term viability and prosperity of rural Welsh communities. image expired

The Wales Rural Development Plan will invest in supporting farming over the next five years. The plan aims to ensure Welsh farming and forestry remain competitive as well as providing environmental benefits through sustainable land management.

News of the investment and increased support will come as a boon to some Welsh farmers, who were told earlier in the year that their land would be better used as recreational woodlands or nature reserves.

The authors of the Defra-commissioned National Ecological Assessment suggested in May that, rather than producing “low value” foods like lamb or relying on subsidies, farmers could be paid for transforming their land into recreation areas for nearby cities, carbon storage, woodlands or wildlife habitats. Welsh farming unions reacted strongly to the suggestion.

As part of the new plans to empower farmers and rural Welsh communities, promoting new processes, markets and products is to take a central role; forming co-operative marketing arrangements will be one of the key strategies in diversifying and strengthening the rural economy. The government also pledged to continue reducing ‘red tape.’

An advisory sector panel, chaired by former Coleg Menai principal Dr Haydn Edwards, will lobby the government on industry priorities. Those behind the action plan pledged to ensure the needs of Welsh farmers were taken into account in the UK negotiating position on the CAP.

Two other new priority sectors identified are construction and tourism. These will join a group of six existing priority sectors already identified, including energy, finance and IT. Farming in Wales employs 70,000 people, and almost one in five Welsh workers are employed in the food supply chain.