Calls for ‘urgent review’ of Economic Resilience Fund to support Welsh farms

Written by Rachel Martin

NFU Cymru has called on the Welsh Economy Minister to urgently review the eligibility criteria for the Economic Resilience Fund in order to support stricken farming businesses.

The union said many farmers across Wales had expressed “distress and dismay” that farm businesses are not eligible to access the £500 million fund established by Welsh Government to provide extra support to businesses and charities experiencing a sharp drop in trading as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

NFU Cymru president John Davies said: “As the country battles against the very serious threats posed by the Coronavirus pandemic, Wales’ farmers are rising to the challenge and doing their utmost to keep the nation fed and continually supplied with safe, high quality, traceable food through the crisis.

NFU Cymru is doing everything possible to ensure primary producers are able to continue producing food and that supermarket shelves remain stocked.

“However, with the severe disruptions in the supply chain which have followed a very difficult winter, we are starting to see severe impacts to cash flow across a range of farming sectors with some farm businesses reaching crisis point.”

Earlier this month, NFU Cymru wrote to the First Minister, Mark Drakeford, warning that a package of support from Government would be critical to the farming industry.

“Farmers are justifiably distressed – particularly in the absence of bespoke support for farming from Welsh Government so far – that they will be unable to access Economic Resilience funding and will instead be referred to Farming Connect,” Davies said.

“Whilst we recognise the steps that deliverers of the Farming Connect programme have taken to ensure the service can continue in the context of the Covid-19 lockdown, we are clear that the Farming Connect ‘offer’ falls significantly short of the type and level of support many farming businesses now need.

Farming can’t be ‘furloughed’ – indeed it is in the national interest that farm businesses continue to operate to provide food for the nation during times of crisis and beyond.

“We are fully supportive of measures from the Government to support and underpin the survival of businesses facing unprecedented impacts as a result of Covid-19 – this must include farming.

“It is absolutely vital that Welsh Government ensures that Welsh farm businesses reaching crisis point as a result of Covid-19 are supported so they can continue to fulfil their vital role as food producers underpinning the rural economy”.

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