Welsh rural affairs minister Lesley Griffiths says 'changes will be made' to the controversial Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) following mounting protests across Wales.

Ms Griffiths told BBC News the Welsh government accepted changes were needed, but she wanted to hear 'all the responses' to the consultation first.

The move comes after a poll showed just 3% of farmers trust the Welsh government and 87% of farmers believed the SFS would neither support their business nor deliver positive environmental outcomes. Just 6% said they would opt into the schemes in their current form, which many consider to be unnecessarily prescriptive and complex.

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Protesters are unhappy with proposed subsidy changes, which require 10% of agricultural land to be used for trees and 10% for wildlife habitat.

Ms Griffiths conceded the 'majority of people' were unhappy with the proposals but said she did not want to pre-empt the consultation into the policy, the Sustainable Farming Scheme, which ends on March 7.

"Officials are already saying to me, 'there will have to be changes made' but I want to look at it holistically," she told BBC Politics Wales.

Lesley Griffiths conceded a 'majority of people' are unhappy with the proposals.

"We need all those responses. We need all the feedback and we need to look at what can be done," she said.

Ms Griffiths added the 'whole point' of the seven-year conversation the government has had with farmers was to ensure sustainable food production and to help fight climate change.

However, Abi Reader, deputy president NFU Cymru, told the programme: "We are yet to see any reassurance from the Welsh government that anything is going to change.

"We are desperate to see some reassurances from the Welsh government that they are listening and they will change things because at the moment there is a huge swell of anger out there, which is headed for the Senedd."

Ms. Reader said no progress was made at a meeting between unions and Welsh government ministers last week, which she described as 'so disappointing'.

READ MORE | Welsh farmers raise alarm over farming scheme proposals

Unions wanted reassurances of regular meetings with ministers 'to continue dialogue' and the appointment of a 'scientific advisory panel' in order to explore alternatives to planting trees.

She said: "It’s making sure that we put stability back into farming businesses. That is what farmers want to see overall.

"We need a model that is universal. It's universal for every single farmer in Wales to access."

The Scottish government has also faced concerns about its agri policy.

The rural affairs committee at Holyrood last week saw minister Mairi Gougeon pressed on more details for the future rural support plan.

Labour MSP Rhoda Grant told Ms Gougeon saying the plan could 'make or break' businesses going forward and stakeholders wanted to see a draft. She said: “The Bill itself doesn’t really provide much scrutiny of the plan. Where is the consultation?”

“The real fear is that in 2025 we are going to be faced with a take it or leave it.”

Ms Gougeon said she understands the concerns and criticisms about lack of detail and the government 'does not want anybody facing any cliff edges and that’s a commitment we have been really strong on'.