Mark Drakeford: Not up to farmers to decide how subsidies spent

Wales’ outgoing first minister has defended plans to ask farmers to plant trees on their land in return for cash.

Mark Drakeford spoke following recent go-slow protests sparked by proposed changes to how agriculture is subsidised.

The Welsh Labour leader said farmers could not simply decide themselves what to do with millions in subsidies.

Mr Drakeford, who quits next month, said the plans would see farmers paid to help address the climate crisis.

He said he understood it was a “difficult time” for rural Wales, but added: “Change is unavoidable.”

The Welsh Conservatives accused Mr Drakeford of showing “naked contempt for our farmers”, while Plaid Cymru said Labour was “out of touch”.

The first minister told a press conference that legitimate protest was “absolutely a right” but he said criminal damage was “not acceptable” and warned protesters from having a major impact on other people’s lives.

Mr Drakeford appealed to farmers who have not taken part in the ongoing consultation on the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) to do so.

“Their voices will shape the final scheme,” he said, saying thousands of farmers had taken part so far.

Plans for the SFS – the Welsh government’s proposals to replace farming subsidies after Brexit – have sparked demonstrations and protests.

To gain access farmers will have to commit to planting 10% of their land with trees and earmark another 10% as wildlife habitat.

Protesters argue it is not practical while running a business and fear they could be overwhelmed with paperwork. Ministers are also under pressure from environmentalists to ensure the proposals are ambitious.

Lesley Griffiths, rural affairs minister, met senior officials from Wales’ two farming unions, the NFU and FAW, on Monday afternoon.

At a press conference on Monday, Mr Drakeford said: “I understand that this is a difficult time for people in rural Wales. That people feel their way of life is under attack from the forces of change that go on around them.

“But change is unavoidable.”

He said he did not buy into the “narrative” that there was a choice between “jobs today and a burning platform that will come unless we are prepared to take action”.

The first minister added: “The bargain cannot be that the public puts its hand into the pocket to put millions of pounds, maybe £300m every year on the table, for farmers to just do whatever farmers think they would like to do with it.”

He said the public was “entitled to a return on that investment”.

“Top of the bargain is sustainable food production. Of course we want to see farmers in Wales producing food in ways that are consistent with a climate crisis.”

Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Andrew RT Davies said: “This statement shows the first minister’s naked contempt for our farmers.

“Labour and Plaid Cymru fail to realise that no farmers means no food, as they sacrifice our agricultural communities at the altar of a fanatical green agenda.”

On X, formerly known as Twitter, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said: “Farmers in Wales already feel as if Welsh government aren’t ready to work with them on securing a just transition for the industry. The first minister’s comments today only add to that perception.”