FARMERS travelled to the Senedd last week for the launch of new NFU Cymru report on the future of agricultural policy in Wales.

NFU Cymru members brought rural Wales to the Senedd for the launch of a new report outlining the union’s key asks for future agricultural policy in Wales.

As well as the policy and political aspect to the event, NFU Cymru brought a flavour of Welsh food and farming to the Senedd with a delicious buffet of Welsh produce. Meanwhile, fibreglass model farm animals were dotted around the Senedd building to provide a rural feel to the Welsh Parliament.

The report calls for policy to secure the production of high-quality affordable food for all in society by enhancing the ability to produce food for the nation; improve on-farm productivity promoting the further sustainable growth of the Welsh food and drink sector; underpin the financial resilience of family farms and in so doing, sustaining rural communities, language, culture and heritage and to maintain and enhance nature and the environment.

Mabon ap Gwynfor, MS for Dwyfor Meirionnydd and shadow minister for rural affairs, said: “The NFU’s Celebration of Welsh Farming during their Welsh Farming Week reminds us of the importance of farming not just to the physical health of our nation but also to the cultural and economic health of our communities.

“I am proud to live on a farm, and live and breathe this way of life on a daily basis.

“Farmers are the custodians of the land, and here in Wales at least they produce not only the best quality food, but they do so while considering the impact on the environment and nature.

“It is also essential in ensuring the cultural vibrancy of Wales, with 40 per cent of the sector speaking Welsh on a daily basis.

“The farming community has come under a lot of undue criticism in recent years from people with their own agendas.”

Speaking after the Celebration of Welsh Food & Farming event in the Senedd, NFU Cymru president Aled Jones said: “Access to safe, high quality, affordable food is the most basic fundamental right for all people in society and a key objective of the bill must be to underpin the production of a stable supply of safe, high quality, affordable food.

“The bill must also include mechanisms to ensure levels of domestic food production are assessed, maintained and enhanced alongside climate, biodiversity and broader environmental objectives.

“As we transition to a new scheme, we look to a framework that continues to provide stability and that targets support at the active farmer; the farming family taking the risk associated with food production and environmental management.

“This framework should deliver a comprehensive suite of outcomes that includes food security, incentivises on farm productivity and safeguards our rural communities and the Welsh language alongside a range of environmental outcomes.”