, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary
for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: Sharing the details of the
Sustainable Farming Scheme today is truly a landmark moment for
Welsh agriculture. The Scheme will support farmers in Wales to
produce world class, high-quality, food whilst caring for the
environment, tackling and adapting to climate change and building
resilience for those who will work and care for this precious
land in the years to come.
Our ambition is to see a thriving and confident agriculture
sector in Wales, that is built around innovation and growth, to
rise to the challenges we face and make the most of the
opportunities available.
The Scheme is a product of unprecedented collaboration. We have
listened to a range of views over the years, and worked
intensively with stakeholders on the Ministerial Roundtable and
supporting groups. I'd like to thank everyone who has
contributed.
This has resulted in a Scheme that we believe works for the
agricultural industry as well as meeting the needs of everyone in
Wales. The Scheme represents a new agreement between the people
of Wales and our farmers and landowners.
The framework of the Universal Actions, with the ability to build
to the Optional and Collaborative Actions, responds to the ask
from the farming community and other stakeholders. This framework
will provide stability whilst helping farm businesses to be more
resilient.
We have maintained the budget of £238 million for 2026 to
encourage as many farmers into the SFS, so they can start to
realise the benefits as soon as possible.
We are clear that our climate and nature commitments will only be
met if there is substantial uptake of the Optional and
Collaborative Actions, prioritised to drive positive
environmental change and improved farming efficiency. The earlier
and greater the uptake, the earlier we will see the benefits from
Optional and Collaborative Actions at scale.
This is why we are committed to further shifting the balance of
the budget to Optional and Collaborative Actions in subsequent
years. We will also continue to develop our understanding of how
actions such as protecting our environment contribute to social
value and to apply this in the future for Optional and
Collaborative Actions.
We've listened and made changes to our approach to tree planting,
moving away from a blanket requirement towards an approach which
incentivises farmers to plant through creating a tree and
hedgerow planting opportunity plan, with generous and flexible
support for tree and hedgerow planting available in the Optional
Layer. We are not expecting, nor do we want, farmers to plant up
their most productive land – they will decide where to plant,
with clear advice and guidance to ensure the right tree in the
right place.
Change is never easy and often daunting. This Scheme is a big
change from the existing support mechanisms, but it is a change
we believe will be good for farming, for food production and for
the environment.
I hope the majority of farmers join the Scheme. There will be a
Transition Period and BPS available for those not in the SFS,
although this will be reduced by 40% next year. This is the same
as it would have been had we introduced SFS in 2025. We are
prioritising our money on SFS to encourage farmers to join the
Scheme and to start benefiting from it.
The Scheme will start on 1 January 2026 but that is only the
beginning. We are here to support farmers, farming, and the
sustainable production of food for the long term. I am committed
to continuing to work collaboratively with all Members of the
Senedd to ensure the Sustainable Farming Scheme represents and
supports the best of Welsh agriculture, and provides the
stability and certainty farmers require to be truly resilient and
sustainable.
I will be providing a further update in an Oral Statement to
Members of the Senedd this afternoon.
