Welsh farmers warned of significant funding cuts post-Brexit

Welsh farmers could lose about 40% of their support funding unless the UK government ring-fences the money that is currently spent on Welsh agriculture, First Minister Carwyn Jones has warned.

The general budget that Wales receives from central government is calculated using the Barnett formula – a mechanism which distributes money to the four UK nations based on population.

See also: MPs blast Defra’s ‘vague’ approach to Brexit

But Mr Jones told the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) annual general meeting in Aberystwyth this week that using the same formula to replace the funding Wales currently receives under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) would seriously disadvantage Welsh farmers.

“The last thing we want to see is agriculture funding become Barnett-ised,” he told the meeting on Monday (June 18).

If this happened, it has been estimated that Wales would receive about 40% less for agriculture than it currently does from the CAP.

Mr Jones insisted that the funding that will replace Wales’ share of the CAP budget – currently understood to be about £329 million – must be allocated as a separate payment.

“Funding for agriculture must not have to compete with health and education,” he said.

Reassurances

FUW president Glyn Roberts said the union had received “acknowledgement” from Defra secretary Michael Gove that rural funding through the Barnett formula would not be appropriate for Wales and the other devolved nations.

Welsh agriculture will remain a devolved issue after Brexit, and the first minister said this offered Wales a “once-in-a-generation” chance to redesign policies.

Mr Jones said the Basic Payment Scheme was not the best tool for supporting food production.

“We need to change the way we support farmers,” he said, promising a “radical approach” to agriculture policies. “Some change might be considerable, but we can’t stand still.”

On trade, he described the prospect of leaving the single European market as “insanity” and said the Welsh government would not tolerate that outcome.

He singled out lamb production as the sector most likely to be threatened by that.

A new Welsh government consultation on future farm support is expected in July.

Procurement

One farmer in the audience suggested that breaking away from EU state aid rules after Brexit could pave the way to public procurement contracts for lamb and other farmed produce that would benefit Welsh farmers.

But Mr Jones believed such a protectionist approach would have negative repercussions for the industry, because other countries would react with similar policies and close the door to Welsh produce.

“Be careful what you wish for,” he warned.