Meirionnydd farmers tell politicians they ‘fear for future’

Written by Rachel Martin

Farmers from Meirionnydd told local politicians of their fears for the future when they met at the local county show in Harlech this week.

Welcoming Assembly Members Dafydd Elis Thomas and Llyr Huws Gruffydd, and MP Liz Saville Roberts to the marquee at the busy event, union official and members discussed on-farm policy and funding post-Brexit, as well as many other farming matters.

Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) Meirionnydd county chairman Sion Ifans said: “We discussed many farming matters at the stand with our members and elected politicians and our key messages to decision-makers were clear.

“A no-deal Brexit will spell disaster for the farming industry in Wales and we stressed that point again here at the county show.

No responsible UK Government would allow the UK to leave the EU without a deal and as we have a Prime Minister who is ‘turbocharging’ preparations for a no-deal Brexit, there remains a lot of work to be done.

“For the family farms of Wales, the communities we support, the future is so impossible to predict that there is massive pressure on all of us.

“We are in a crisis, which is the result of three years of uncertainty, political intrigue and self-seeking opportunism – at the expense of the people of the UK, Wales and Meirionnydd.

“We share the Welsh Government’s concerns regarding the impacts of a no-deal Brexit and welcome the commitment to supporting agriculture.

However, in terms of the Sustainable Farming and our Land consultation, we have major concerns regarding the clash between the October 30 deadline and the date on which we are due to leave the EU, as Brexit disruption is likely to distract attention away from this important consultation document.

“Our members feel that they haven’t got enough time to fully consider what is being proposed in the consultation and that’s why Meirionnydd farmers have also asked for the deadline to be extended by a few months – so that they can focus on their own contingency planning before responding to this important consultation.”

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