The Agriculture (Wales) Act has become legislation after it received Royal Assent.
In a statement the Welsh Government said that the act was a key step in supporting farmers and ensuring that food was produced sustainably in Wales for generations to come.
The act will form the basis for the Sustainable Farming Scheme that will provide financial assistance to farmers as long as they keep to certain environmental conditions. The legislation gives Welsh Government Ministers extra powers to provide financial assistance to farmers in future under any new payment scheme and in the meantime during the period in which the details of any such scheme are finalised.
The First Minister Mark Drakeford said:
‘This is a historic Act. The first time ever Wales has been able to design its own policy for farming. It comes at a crucial time for the industry, as we shape future support and face the challenges of higher costs and the climate emergency.
The Act allows us to focus on the economic, environmental, and social sustainability of the Welsh agricultural sector. We know the main threat to sustainable food production in the future is climate change, this Act gives us the tools to support the industry to continue to produce food sustainably while taking action to deal with the climate emergency.’
