Welsh government urged to rethink BPS cuts

Pressure is mounting on the Welsh government to change course on farm support, amid calls to halt another sharp reduction in Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments.

Reform Cymru shadow cabinet minister for food, farming and rural affairs Laura Anne Jones urged cabinet minister for rural resilience and sustainability Llyr Gruffydd to reconsider plans to reduce BPS payments again in 2027.

See also: NFU Cymru urges SFS changes before 2027 window

BPS payments were cut to 60% of their 2025 value this year as Wales began its transition to the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) and are due to fall to 40% in 2027 and 20% in 2028, before ending completely in 2029.

Speaking in the Senedd on Wednesday 30 September, Ms Jones warned that many smaller family farms remaining outside the SFS were already struggling on 60% of the original 2025 BPS value.

She argued that reducing payments to 40% next year could “literally signal the end of most family farms in Wales” and urged Mr Gruffydd to limit the reduction.

“Would you consider dropping the BPS by just 1%, as opposed to the further 20%, unless of course you do want to be the minister responsible for the genuine end of family farms across Wales?” she asked.

Change not entertained

Mr Gruffydd acknowledged the difficulties farmers faced during the transition between the two schemes but was clear that he would “not entertain dropping the transition by just 1%”.

“I am of course considering making the SFS truly more accessible to as many farmers as possible,” he said and pointed to recent changes intended to make the scheme more flexible, alongside a commitment of £1bn to farming over the next three years.

He also cited the Welsh government’s agricultural red-tape review and changes to agricultural pollution rules as examples of measures intended to ease pressures on farmers.

BPS lifeline

NFU Cymru president Abi Reader said the exchange reinforced the union’s call for significant changes to the SFS, arguing that around half of Welsh farmers had been unable to access the scheme this year.

“This reinforces our ask that we need meaningful change to the SFS because half of Wales couldn’t access the scheme,” she told Farmers Weekly.

“For those farmers who still face those barriers and can’t get into the SFS, the BPS remains a lifeline, no more so than what we’ve seen this year.

“Maintaining the current BPS level should be an option on the table,” she said.