Imagine a future where we restore nature, tackle climate change and secure healthy, sustainable food for generations. New laws in Wales are set to transform the country’s farming system to help make this happen.
The Agriculture (Wales) Act passed through the Senedd in June 2023 and received Royal Assent in August 2023. Thanks to WWF Cymru campaigning, nature-friendly farmer case studies, a survey of rural Wales and your support through petitions and e-actions, we successfully advocated for agroecology to be central to the Act, putting people at the heart of solutions.
But the campaign isn’t over yet. The Act was the first stage, and has paved the way for the Sustainable Farming Scheme, which will replace the subsidies farmers used to receive under the EU Common Agricultural Policy.
It proposes to reward farmers for managing their land in a way that’s good for nature, people and the climate. Farmers will receive payments not just for the food they produce but for how they produce it.
That might include improving soil health, using fewer chemical fertilisers and pesticides, increasing tree cover, restoring peatlands and enhancing wildlife habitats. If it’s done right, it will mean cleaner air and water, more biodiversity and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a more secure future for Welsh farmers.
However, nature-friendly farmers across Wales tell us that current plans for the scheme, which launches in 2025, aren’t enough to ensure those already farming in a world-leading regenerative way are able to continue to do so.
Our Land of Our Future (Gwlad Ein Dyfodol) campaign will continue to call on the Welsh government to ensure the Sustainable Farming Scheme has enough funding and is implemented in the right way to reward farmers going above and beyond for nature, and to encourage others to do so.
“Farming is at the heart of how we use land in Wales, so supporting farmers to adopt climate- and nature-friendly practices is crucial to securing our future and our ability to produce food,” says Shea Buckland-Jones, head of policy and advocacy at WWF Cymru.
“Our Agriculture Act has paved the way, but now we need to secure a Sustainable Farming Scheme which is about improving food and farming systems, supporting regenerative, nature-friendly farming and putting people at the heart of solutions.
“We have an unmissable opportunity to create a sustainable food system where our farmers, communities and nature flourish together.”
Nature-friendly farming
Learn more about the Land of Our Future campaign and what it means for agriculture in Wales.
BANNER IMAGE: © DAVID BEBBER / WWF-UK
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