Mark Drakeford has warned Wales' farming community that subsidies to replace EU funding won't be provided unless it can be justified to "Bangladeshi tax drivers" in Cardiff.
In 2025, the Welsh Government will introduce a subsidy scheme to replace EU-based payments for agriculture. This will include measures to protect biodiversity including creating ponds as well as tree planting targets. Farmers will need to cover at least 10% of the land with trees in also to access future government cash. This is all part of the drive to reduce emissions and limit the damage of the unfolding climate crisis.
Speaking to the BBC the First Minister said farmers must "do things that taxpayers are willing to invest in" to keep receiving subsidies. He said that he needed to "justify to Bangladeshi taxi drivers" in the Riverside area of Cardiff who tax payers money was going to farmers.
He said: "We think that on average, 7% or 8% of farms in Wales are already covered by trees. This is not a new 10% this is 10% altogether where most farms are well more than half way there.
"If you wish to take advantage of that money, if you want to have help from the Welsh taxpayer, then you will have to find a way of bringing yourself within the scheme that allows me, as the first minister, to justify to Bangladeshi taxi drivers in Riverside, where I live, why they should pay their taxes in order to support farmers in Wales."
Farming is a vital industry in Wales. Not just in terms of employment but also safeguarding the Welsh language which is widely spoken within farming communities.
National Farmers Union Cymru said that they believe that farming subsidies represent "exceptional value". Also speaking to the BBC NFU Cymru deputy president Abi Reader said: "Welsh farmers produce high quality, climate-friendly, affordable food at all price points. Despite the current cost of living crisis, the price of food here in the UK as a proportion of household income is the third lowest in the world.
"Alongside the industry's food-producing credentials, Welsh farmers care for and manage 80% of the land in Wales, managing landscapes that attract millions of tourists every year. Welsh agriculture is also the lifeblood of rural communities and farmers are champions of Welsh language and culture. This wide array of benefits mean Welsh agriculture delivers for all of society and we believe this represents exceptional value for a relative fraction of the Welsh government budget."
Read more:
- The utterly terrifying temperatures just recorded where it is 40C above normal
- Global heating: The terrifying fate of the planet and everyone who lives on it that is now 'irreversible'
- The massive amount of money about to be spent in Wales to try and tackle flooding caused by climate change
- The scorching temperatures pictured across Europe as continent sees 40°C conditions
- Why people are talking about 40C in the next few days - the science behind it and the likelihood of it happening
