Dwyfor Meirionnydd MS Mabon ap Gwynfor and MP Liz Saville Roberts have met with local farmers to reaffirm their support for the industry, as agriculture faces a series of unprecedented challenges.

Mr ap Gwynfor and Mrs Saville Roberts held a farming surgery at Dolgellau Mart last week to discuss increasing concerns from within the agricultural community about the future viability of the sector.

They reaffirmed their commitment to do everything within their power to ensure that both the Welsh Labour and Tory UK governments urgently change direction to secure a long-term, viable future for farming in Wales. 

It comes as a mass rally of thousands of farmers from across Wales is expected at the Senedd this Wednesday. 

Mr ap Gwynfor, who is himself a farmer, has been lobbying the Welsh Labour government to ditch what he describes as an ‘unsustainable and undeliverable’ farming scheme, and which will make farming ‘impossible’ for many in Wales.

Mr ap Gwynfor and Mrs Saville Roberts said: “Farmers in Dwyfor Meirionnydd and across Wales are right to worry about the future of the sector because of the enormous pressure on the industry at the moment.

“Many of these challenges derive directly from decisions taken by the Tory Westminster and Labour Welsh Governments.

“Be it the damaging effect of Brexit and the proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme, an increase in farming costs or the undermining effect of new trade agreements, NVZ regulations or failing to tackle TB in cattle.

“All of these affect the sector, but when they all come at the same time the cumulative effect is so much worse. Plaid Cymru has consistently stood side by side with our farming communities.

“In Westminster, we have repeatedly argued for increased cost-of-living support for farmers and called for farmhouses to be included in the UK Government’s energy bill support schemes for households.

“We voted against the Australia-New Zealand Trade Bill, which has seen Welsh lamb and beef farmers undercut, and we have consistently argued for the strengthening of the Groceries Supply Code of Practice to support and protect farmers as producers in the food chain.

“We welcomed the opportunity to discuss these issues directly with local farmers at Dolgellau Farmers Mart last week, listening to their concerns and reaffirming our commitment as elected representatives to defend their interests as they now face seemingly undeliverable and unrealistic policies set by the Welsh Labour government.

“Farming communities feel under siege, bombarded by policy after policy, scheme after scheme and hit after hit, year on year.

“The proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) is overly complicated, requiring farmers to take swathes of land out of use – it is unworkable.

“Given these mounting concerns, the Welsh Government needs to take a step back and look at the cumulative impact of its agricultural policies on the industry.

“The Welsh Government must urgently return to the table, listen to farmers, farming unions and other political voices and rethink these unworkable policies or risk forever damaging an industry which has been a bedrock of our rural economy, sustaining our language and culture, and is the engine of food production feeding our nation.”