NSA frustrated over details of Welsh Habitat Scheme
10th October 2023
The National Sheep Association (NSA) is frustrated as the detail of the Welsh Government’s Habitat Scheme has emerged revealing worrying inequalities for farmers seeking support to further their environmental work.
The interim scheme is intended to be a bridge between the existing Glastir Land Management Scheme and the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) planned for 2025, but NSA is concerned it will lead to disparity between farmers in Wales.
NSA Chief Executive Phil Stocker says: “Farming businesses want a level of continuity and certainty so that long term decisions can be made – livestock farms even more so - due to their long production cycles. This Habitat scheme, if it is rolled out as intended, will seriously impact incomes on many farms that have previously been involved in the Glastir scheme with very little time to mitigate the impact of income loss.
“Due to it being a competitive application process, the fact that the budget will be tight, and applications invited from all farms in Wales, some farms may not even get access to the support at all. Quite what they are expected to do in this situation is bewildering and the uncertainty doesn’t provide the equality that Welsh Government is claiming. The natural reaction of many will be to turn away from the risks, ditch their environmental work, and focus on farming and production, but for many upland farmers in particular those involved in environmental schemes, this won’t be an option. It looks as though Welsh Government is taking advantage of the fact that many will have little choice but to take a financial hit for one or two years before the SFS becomes available”.
Welsh Government officials have accepted farmers will be expected to continue to deliver a similar level of environmental activity but will get limited reward but are balancing this reduction in support by saying all farmers will get the chance to apply.
Mr Stocker continues: “The impact of the short-term decisions and lack of planning time is ridiculous. It is especially concerning that Welsh Government still does not appreciate the nature of farming and the business planning needed years in advance. Farm businesses have adapted over years to either work within or outside of the Glastir scheme. Most will have settled on farming activities and /or environmental schemes that give them a level of viability. To disrupt this for one year seems crazy. NSA would have far preferred to continue with the status quo for a further year to allow an easing into the new SFS in 2025.”
The Habitat scheme replaces Glastir, an environmental scheme that was funded through the EU but will now be funded by Government with an unknown budget. In 2025 the SFS will be funded by the money being removed from the Basic Payment Scheme.
NSA Cymru/Wales Development Officer Helen Roberts says: “It is especially worrying that the Habitat scheme may simply get absorbed into the SFS with a complete loss of the environmental budget with everything being funded through ex BPS funds. This is undervaluing the environment, our landscape, and rural communities, and ignoring the positive impact farming and land management has for the health and wellbeing of society.
“Having met with Welsh Government, it appears the scheme has been ill thought out and will pit farmers against each other and not bring them together to work as one for the environment, especially in the uplands. Welsh Government admits there have been errors with the initial mapping and although this has been rectified, farmers will not know this when applying as Welsh Government will update the claims as they are received, this still leaves room for error and farmers in the unknown which is just a ridiculous situation to be in.”
