MS, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet
Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: I would like to
update Senedd Members, stakeholders and the farming community on
the ongoing work and progress being made on the design of the
final Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) through working in
partnership with stakeholders.
Since publishing the Scheme Outline last
November we have continued to work closely with the Ministerial
Roundtable and Officials Groups and a new Trees and Hedges
Stakeholder Delivery Group who are helping to shape the Scheme
design before final decisions are taken this summer and the
Scheme commences in January 2026.
We remain committed to supporting our farmers with a Universal
Payment that recognises a holistic approach to the economic,
environmental, social and cultural benefits that sustainable
farming businesses contribute to. Through this approach we can
build on sustainable farming practices to deliver high animal
health and welfare standards, respond to the challenges of the
climate and nature emergency and support the sustainable
production of food.
In exchange for delivering the proposed Universal Actions we will
provide farmers with a Universal Baseline Payment generated from
the whole farm size, which will provide a welcome level of
certainty for farmers. We are working at pace with the
Ministerial Roundtable members to refine the detail of the
Universal Actions and Scheme requirements farmers will need to be
aware before joining the Scheme. We recognise there is still work
to do to address remaining issues.
We are also progressing the Optional and Collaborative Actions, a
number of which will be available from 2026, to support those
farmers who want to go further and build on the foundations of
the Universal Layer to deliver more targeted outcomes for their
business, climate, nature and the people of Wales.
Based on the most recent Scheme Outline, an updated evidence base
is being developed. This includes an economic analysis and an
impact assessment considering the impact on the full range of
Sustainable Land Management objectives. I repeat my previous
commitment that I will not be making final Scheme design
decisions before we have this evidence, and I have discussed it
with the Roundtable.
In the meantime, Welsh Government is continuing to support
farmers through the transition to SFS by maintaining the Basic
Payment Scheme at £238m and making available a wide range of SFS
Preparatory Phase schemes. In total, the Welsh Government is
supporting agriculture in Wales this year with an available
budget of £366m.
There is still much work to be done this year, and I am grateful
for the continued support and commitment from stakeholders. We
are only able to progress with the input of all.
I intend to share the final Scheme with the Senedd and
stakeholders as soon as possible this summer. This will be
accompanied by details of how we will continue to work in
partnership with stakeholders throughout the remainder of the
year and beyond, to support farmers' transition into the Scheme.
The Scheme will be central to delivering my vision of a thriving
agricultural sector in Wales that delivers sustainable food
production, helps tackle the climate and nature emergency and
supports vibrant rural communities.
