Multi-year farm budget brings certainty for Wales

The Welsh government has pledged more than £1bn over the next three years for farming to provide longer-term certainty under the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).

The commitment, announced by rural resilience and sustainability cabinet secretary Llyr Gruffydd at the Royal Welsh Show, guarantees £340m a year through to March 2030.

It includes £238m annually for the “universal” layer of the SFS (which sets the basic standards of environmental and animal welfare care required for payment) and £102m for the “optional” and “collaborative” layers.

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The multi-year settlement replaces the previous annual funding model and fulfils a Plaid Cymru government commitment to provide longer-term certainty for the scheme.

NFU Cymru president Abi Reader noted there had been no increase in the overall farm support budget since 2012, but welcomed the announcement, describing it as a significant step forward given the current economic climate.  

She said securing the funding would provide “much-needed stability and certainty during a time of extreme volatility and global uncertainty”.

Changes still needed

However, Ms Reader said changes were still needed to some universal actions, including habitat management, temporary habitat creation, hedgerow management and the Animal Health Improvement Cycle (Ahic), which she described as creating unnecessary costs and duplication.

“We’ve got to have the evolution on those universal actions because they are serious blockers,” she said, adding that reducing bureaucracy would allow more farmers to join the scheme.

Farmers’ Union of Wales president Ian Rickman also welcomed the funding framework, saying it would give family farms greater confidence to plan ahead.

Active farmer criteria

Mr Rickman added that it was crucial that “every penny of the SFS budget is received by the active farmers of Wales” and that this is also applied to the optional and the collaborative layers of the scheme.

The union reiterated its call for no business to lose out financially by joining the SFS, while FUW head of policy Gareth Parry described the £340m annual allocation as “a baseline to work from, as opposed to a capped budget”.

Acknowledging uncertainty

Asked whether the funding would guarantee profitable farm businesses by the end of the Senedd term, Mr Gruffydd acknowledged the uncertainty facing the industry.

“We are committing to ring-fencing the big slice,” he said.

“As the minister, I will always fight for more,” he added.

The minister also confirmed early measures to reduce bureaucracy, including plans to align the Ahic with farm assurance schemes from 2027, allowing participating farmers to meet assurance and SFS requirements through a single veterinary visit.