NFU Cymru have met with the new Welsh Government Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, providing an opportunity for the union to set out its priorities and ambitions to the new Minister.

NFU Cymru President Abi Reader and Deputy President Paul Williams met with Cabinet Minister Llyr Gruffydd at Tŷ Hywel in Cardiff Bay.

The meeting gave the union’s leaders the opportunity to further discuss common goals within NFU Cymru and Plaid Cymru’s respective manifestos.

Among the main topics discussed were the need for a comprehensive ‘farm to fork’ National Food Strategy, commitments on future funding for Welsh agriculture, evolution of the Sustainable Farming Scheme and the need for an independent review of regulation. NFU Cymru also stressed the need for the new government to move forward, without delay, on a genuine bovine TB eradication strategy.

NFU Cymru President Abi Reader said: “We are grateful to Llyr Gruffydd for meeting with us.

“This was a hugely constructive meeting where we were able to expand on our vision for the future of Welsh agriculture and identify the areas where the new Welsh Government has set out similar aspirations for Welsh farming and rural Wales in its own manifesto.

“In particular, NFU Cymru has emphasised to the Cabinet Minister the importance of the new Welsh Government delivering a multi-year funding cycle for Welsh agriculture, moving away from the current restrictive - and uncertain - year-to-year payment model, a commitment Plaid Cymru said it would deliver in its First 100 days of Government. We believe there’s a compelling case for an ambitious and growth-focused Welsh Government to increase the wider agricultural budget. Doing so would help ensure farmers can continue providing the wide range of food, environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits they currently deliver for the people and communities of Wales.”