Welsh farm leaders have welcomed the establishment of a new stakeholder group to assess the development of the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).
In a written statement on future farm support, the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies, announced the new SFS Ministerial Roundtable.
It closely mirror requests made by farm leaders in a meeting with Welsh government in February as part of a series of policy asks to address the worries of thousands of farmers over the SFS.
Those asks included a request for regular SFS meetings in advance of the publication of the final scheme design and its payment rates, as well as for additional work to be commissioned to report back to these meetings.
The establishment of a science panel to look at and evaluate alternatives to the controversial 10% tree cover requirements within the current scheme design was also raised.
In its current form, the SFS, Wales' post-Brexit system of support, stipulates that farmers must have at least 10% tree cover on their land and a further 10% for wildlife habitat.
However, a recent impact assessment commissioned by the Welsh government found that the SFS risked reducing 122,000 livestock units, representing a 'shocking' 11% fall.
In response, farmers have conducted protests across Wales, and unions and organisations have held dozens of events and discussions, with some attracting thousands of participants.
Speaking after the written statement, NFU Cymru President Aled Jones said: “We must get the SFS right, neither farming families nor government can afford to have a scheme that fails to deliver on our ambitions for the rural economy, food, nature and climate.
"The scheme must work for all farmers - that’s all farm types, sectors and regions, as well as tenant farmers and for those with common land.
"The scheme must deliver stability to underpin food production, our farmed environment, our communities, our language and culture for our generation and those that follow in our footsteps."
Further and alternative proposals to achieve additional carbon sequestration within the SFS will also be looked at as part of one of the first tasks of the roundtable, Mr Irranca-Davies confirmed.
The Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) said this development was welcomed due to the 'urgent need' to evaluate the science around net zero and carbon sequestration to help develop the SFS.
"This element needs to take into account all actions farmers can undertake to make progress towards net zero in a sustainable way," said FUW President Ian Rickman.
“The engagement we’ve had as a union with the Cabinet Secretary and his officials to date has been positive and this statement reflects those discussions.
"The FUW is ready to burn the midnight oil to ensure we get to the right place before the end of the year, in order that this scheme is workable both economically and environmentally,” he concluded.
