Royal Welsh: Wales to incentivise bee friendly farming?
The Welsh government is looking to ramp up farmers’ responsibility to support pollinators on-farm, using rural development payments as an incentive, it emerged at this year’s Royal Welsh show.
The launch of an action plan for pollinators in Wales says that, “where feasible”, environmental targets would be introduced for the improvement of pollinator environments, and tied in to Pillar 2 payments.
A Welsh government source said that no more details were available at present, but, following a consultation, it was likely that pollinator support would have more precedence.
The action plan also promised to “consider how Glastir can improve outcomes for biodiversity and pollinators”.
It is understood that Natural Resource Wales – a body which has unified the Welsh Environment Agency, Forestry Commission, and the Countryside Council for Wales – has been feeding in to the consultation, mainly through experience gained managing its own estate.
Also announced at the Show was a “pollinator pack”, available from the Woodland Trust, which includes 210 native trees known to support bees. The pack will be heavily subsidised by the charity, costing £60 plus VAT.
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