The Sustainable Farming Scheme

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs, North Wales and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:35 pm on 26 October 2022.

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Photo of James Evans James Evans Conservative 2:35, 26 October 2022

Thank you for that, Minister. Many young tenant farmers in my constituency believe that the proposals as currently drafted within the sustainable farming scheme are still very much leaned towards land ownership. Tenants, usually young farming families on the first rung of the farming ladder, have to deal with different types of landlords, from the local farmer who's retired, up to the big organisations, like the National Trust. Many young farmers rent land, whether that's on grazing agreements or farm business tenancies, and the tenants are the ones who carry the financial business risks on the land. So, Minister, are you content that the proposals set out in the sustainable farming scheme allow tenant farmers to enter that on the same level as land owners, and that the scheme protects young, active tenant farmers and their families from potential evictions by some landlords, so that they can offset their carbon and meet environmental targets?