‘Pembrokeshire has a proud history of food production and future policy must not stand in the county’s way of feeding a growing population’ - that is the key message from NFU Cymru Pembrokeshire members ahead of the Pembrokeshire County Show which starts today (Wednesday, August 16).

For generations the county of Pembrokeshire, with its maritime climate, healthy soils and plentiful grass growth, has been synonymous with the production of nutritious, affordable and sustainable food.

Farmers in the county now fear that future Welsh Government policy – principally an entry requirement to the Sustainable Farming Scheme for farms to host 10% tree cover – could inhibit their ability to produce food at a time when the UK’s self sufficiency sits at just 60%.

NFU Cymru Pembrokeshire County Chairman Simon Davies said: “When my grandfather Idris Davies was NFU Pembrokeshire County Chairman in 1947, the world’s population was around 2.5 billion. When my father, Geraint Davies, was the NFU’s Pembrokeshire County Chairman in 1983 the global population had risen to 4.6 billion and the UK’s self sufficiency was around 78%.

“Now in 2023, as the third consecutive member of my family to represent NFU Cymru in Pembrokeshire, the UK’s self-sufficiency has dwindled to 60% with the number of people living on the planet standing at 8.1 billion and on course to reach 10 billion by 2057.

“It worries me that there are more people to feed amid a backdrop of weather extremities, conflict in Europe and economic volatility, and yet our ability to feed ourselves is diminishing.

“Based on the skills, enthusiasm, infrastructure and climate we have here in Pembrokeshire we couldn’t be better placed to face the challenge of feeding a growing population.

“The county is renowned for its milk, potatoes, vegetables, red meat and eggs, and we have the processing capacity to add value to the raw materials we produce and to meet the demand of our customers.

“Our industry is playing a leading role in supporting the Welsh food and drink sector which employs around 240,000 people and brings in over £8billion a year to the Welsh economy.

“With so many favourable production qualities we have a moral obligation to produce high quality, sustainable and affordable food for all in society.

“I am concerned, however, that parts of Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme proposals threaten the ambitions and capabilities of Pembrokeshire’s farmers at a time when we can ill-afford to do so,” he continued.

“While there are a number of positive elements in the proposals that NFU Cymru has lobbied for, they are being compromised by the rigid 10% tree cover stipulation in the universal tier of the scheme.

“The current focus on trees for carbon sequestration and the classification of hedgerows as merely habitat does a disservice to the multiple benefits we’re already delivering.

“On my own farm, we have an extensive network of hedgerows that not only provide excellent habitat for nature, but also capture significant amounts of carbon, with the potential to capture so much more. What is a hedge if not a collection of trees?

“We won’t be able to sign up to the new Sustainable Farming Scheme if Welsh Government presses ahead with a pre-requisite requiring farms to have 10% tree cover to be eligible for the universal tier of the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

“It’s simply not achievable for us or many other farms in the county.

“The potential impact of these proposals is particularly concerning when coupled with the effect that the water quality regulations will have on livestock numbers in the county and across Wales.

“We have just invested heavily in additional slurry storage facilities as a result of the additional requirements resulting from the new all-Wales water quality regulations, at the same time as needing to reduce output to comply with the de facto stocking limits the regulations require.

“Our business simply cannot afford to take additional land out of production to meet the tree cover requirements as well.

“Living and farming in Pembrokeshire all my life, I find it puzzling that Welsh Government is considering taking forward policies that risk further increasing our over-reliance on imported food.

“Farmers can be part of the solution to tackling climate change, we have a clear plan for how we can reach net zero agriculture by 2040.

“We can maintain our productive capacity through efficient food production systems, we can capture carbon through our hedgerows, grasslands and soils, as well as through appropriate tree planting; and we can also produce renewable energy on our farms through wind, solar and hydro.

“Sustainability looks different on every farm but we’re all willing to play our part while still producing affordable food for the nation.

“We need agricultural policy that underpins high quality food production, whilst meeting our climate and nature obligations.

“We want our government to listen to our concerns and we want to work with them to help achieve our ambitions in relation to domestic food security and being global leaders in the production of climate friendly food.”