Thousands of farmers have reportedly staged a protest on the steps of the Welsh parliament to kick against climate policies that they say will wreck their industry.
Farmers gave emotional accounts of trying to keep businesses going and accused the Labour-run government of betraying communities that produce the country’s food. However, concerns are growing that groups who deny there is a climate emergency, as well as campaigners against net zero plans, are trying to exploit the farmers’ campaign.
According to reports, agricultural workers gathered as the Senedd prepared to debate highly contentious issues including the government’s sustainable farming scheme (SFS), its post-Brexit proposal for funding the sector, which includes requiring farmers to plant trees on 10% of their land to help tackle the climate crisis. Also under debate were the problem of bovine TB and strict measures to stop rivers from being polluted by farming practices.
A large policing operation was in place amid worries that farmers driving tractors might block roads around the Welsh capital. Though dozens of people did arrive in farm vehicles, they obeyed instructions to park a few hundred metres from the Senedd rather than attempting to reach the slate steps. Organisers claimed that more than 200 coaches had come to Cardiff from across Wales.
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Speakers from the Welsh farmers’ union NFU Cymru said that the SFS would cost more than 5,000 jobs and that the turnout showed the Welsh dragon was “truly awake” and ready to fight back. However, one leader, Abi Reader, was booed when she said farmers could help the country meet net zero commitments in addition to producing nutritious, affordable food.
The former international rugby referee Nigel Owens, a farmer in Carmarthenshire, south-west Wales, said that as well as producing food, farming preserved Welsh culture and language. “There can be no food on the table if there are no farmers,” he said.
The most emotional speech was delivered by Stuart Williams, who described the silence on his Pembrokeshire farm after he lost his whole herd of cows to bovine TB. “As a fourth-generation dairy farmer, it’s in our blood. It isn’t a job; it’s a lifestyle,” he said. “We, as farmers, deserve better.”
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
