Agricultural leaders have urged the Welsh government to 'listen to the voice of the industry' following a surge of feedback on the Sustainable Farming Scheme consultation.

The Welsh government recently released an independent review and response to the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) consultation.

The consultation conducted earlier this year, garnered 12,000 responses, predominantly from farmers.

Marking the most significant shift in Welsh farming policy in a generation, the proposals have sparked widespread concern and unease since their release.

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An analysis of the consultation responses highlights ongoing worry within the agricultural sector, with the perceived complexity of the SFS being a notable issue.

A common theme among the feedback is the desire for a greater emphasis on food production, along with strong opposition to the scheme’s woodland requirements.

NFU Cymru president Aled Jones described the consultation responses as a 'clear indicator' of the need for a 'major overhaul' of the SFS.

Jones stated: “The SFS must move beyond a scheme focussed predominately on the delivery of environmental outcomes and instead become a genuine agricultural policy that underpins food production in an increasingly volatile world.

“Changes to the SFS are needed to ensure that the universal baseline payment is practical and achievable for all farm types, sectors and locations.

"It must provide equal access to all active farmers in Wales, including tenants and commoners.”

He continued: “The universal baseline payment must go beyond costs incurred/income foregone calculations and incentivise the actions that Welsh Government asks Welsh farming to deliver for society.

"The scheme must include a long-term stability mechanism to underpin the continued supply of safe, high quality, affordable food from Wales.”

The Welsh government has recently announced that the SFS will not commence until 2026, with an initiation preparatory phase starting next year.

However, the Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) cautioned that the industry's message had been 'loud and clear' regarding the proposals.

FUW president Ian Rickman said: “It comes as no surprise that the consensus from the mammoth 12,000 farmers and organisations who responded to the consultation calls for significant changes to the scheme proposals.

“We welcome the remarks made by the Cabinet Secretary today as he commits to introducing the scheme only when it is ready.

"This needs to be an agricultural support scheme that provides stability for our food producing family farms in Wales and considers economic, social and environmental sustainability on equal footings.”