OVER 100 people gathered at Ceredigion Green Party’s latest Platform event at Victoria Hall in Lampeter, to consider how to best use land in Wales to develop sustainable rural communities and employment, and tackle climate change.

The conference opened with a speech from Dr Sophie Wynne Jones, a lecturer in human geo­graphy at Bangor University, outlining some of the challenges faced by farmers, such as the pressure to specialise in a globalised market, reductions in subsidies and environmental change.

Dr Wynne Jones also identified opportunities for collaborative working in community economies and the benefits available to farmers through using on farm renewables.

This was followed by group discussions on many themes, including diversification, sustainability, permaculture, localism and issues faced by young people in our rural communities.

Wyn Evans, president of Ceredigion NFU Cymru and NFU Cymru Livestock board chairman, said: “Subsidies will drop by 40 per cent and we have to adapt.”

Mr Evans also identified small and medium-sized farms as “good for communities and businesses”.

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