Huw Irranca-Davies MS, Deputy First Minister & Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Supporting the future of our agricultural sector in Wales is paramount to the sustainable production of food, tackling the climate emergency and reversing nature loss.
We have today published our first ever Multi-Annual Support Plan (“MASP”) as required pursuant to section 11 of the Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023 (the “Act”).
This marks an important milestone since the passing of the Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023 and is the first of many reporting requirements we will be publishing under the Act.
I believe the support that we as a government provide, should reflect this important change in context and reward our farmers who take action to meet these challenges across Wales.
The MASP sets out the Welsh Government’s plan and suite of activity for future support, providing the agricultural sector with assurance and transparency, and enabling the sector and its businesses to plan in five yearly cycles. The first MASP published today will cover the period between 1st January 2025 and 31st December 2029.
The MASP describes each scheme that is intended to be in operation or expected to become operational during this period and provides a description of the support each scheme will provide.
In addition, the MASP further provides a visual overview of the support expected during the plan period, including details on current Direct Payments to Farmers such as Basic Payment Scheme; Rural Investment Schemes support; the Sustainable Farming Scheme (“SFS”) Preparatory Phase, as well as the recently published proposals for SFS.
The announcement today demonstrates the steps we will take to support our agricultural sector over the next five years in delivering actions which contribute towards the Sustainable Land Management objectives.