Ar gyfer y Gymraeg, defnyddiwch ein gwasanaeth cyfieithu drwy glicio’r botwm ‘ENG’ yng nghornel dde isaf eich sgrin, a dewis ‘Welsh’.
At the end of 2024 Ian Rappel joined the LWA team as the new Campaigns and Policy Coordinator for Cymru (Wales); taking on the work of his predecessor, Holly Tomlinson. In this blog post Ian provides an update on our current policy work looking ahead to the 2026 Senedd elections, and how Gweithwyr y Tir (LWA Cymru) is continuing to build grassroots campaigns for agroecology and food sovereignty in the Welsh context.
LWA Cymru’s Campaigns and Policy activities continue to take place in a political atmosphere that, for the present at least, promises fertile ground for our members’ work and outlook. The Welsh Government and other arms of the administration are showing signs of genuine awareness of the challenges facing Wales’ food system, as well as potential agroecological solutions, including upscaling Welsh horticulture. Much of this is a historical result of successful lobbying by LWA Cymru and our partners, but it also reflects the presence of progressive institutions and individuals within Wales’ food policy environment, including the prioritisation of food by the Wellbeing of Future Generations Commissioner and their team.
The Royal Welsh Agricultural Show (July 21st-24th)
As we head into the height of summer our campaigns work will be focussing on the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show (RWAS), one of the largest agricultural shows in the UK. Despite its use as a platform for big-ag to parade its new kit, the Show still provides space for progressive organisations across farming, the food system and the environment to network and co-ordinate campaigns and policy work.
Gweithwyr y Tir (LWA Cymru) will have our own space at the 2025 RWAS, and we’ll be using that to engage with our existing members and recruit new members and partners. We will also be able to use that higher profile to engage with (and no doubt debate with) ‘conventional’ farmers, the public, NGOs and politicians.
Gweithwyr y Tir at RWAS 2024
Updates on the Sustainable Farming Scheme
In terms of policy announcements, this year’s Show will be dominated by the Welsh Government’s plans for the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), the redesigned agriculture subsidy system for Wales. Although weakened by its removal of new woodland creation requirements, and problematised by its retention of area-based payments and qualifications, the SFS contains provision to support smaller and tenant farms and horticulture through inclusion of a ‘labour-hours worked’ threshold (550 standard labour hours), something that LWA Cymru has worked hard to promote as an eligibility criteria.
More detail on the SFS is expected to be presented at the Show. We are hoping for clarification over how horticulture can be supported through Optional and Collaborative grant schemes (LWA Campaigns Team members have been providing advice and guidance that we hope will be taken up), but the Options for woodland creation and livestock systems will also be of interest to LWA Cymru members.
@ Awen Organics
Support for Horticulture
In our ongoing work, there are good discussions and interventions being made around horticulture in Wales. The Welsh Government hosts frequent meetings of its Horticulture Planning Group, which LWA Cymru attends.
LWA Cymru has also been inputting into horticulture development through our successful role in planning practice, making it easier to gain planning permission for agricultural accommodation through our role in the Future Farms Partnership initiative in mid Wales. We have also been participating in the Centre for Alternative Technology’s (CAT) Innovation Laboratory workshops looking at the barriers and opportunities for horticulture in Wales.
Senedd Elections 2026
Further out on the campaign horizon, LWA Cymru and our partners are preparing for the Senedd/Wales Assembly Elections of early May 2026. Through Food Policy Alliance Cymru (FPAC) we have been trying to influence the development of political party manifestos. Although it seems unlikely that the attempt to pass an explicit Food Bill for Wales will be resurrected, the need for a coherent Food and Farming Strategy that addresses food security and food justice is being placed before the political parties currently represented at the Senedd.
In amongst our normal lobbying work, however, we are all trying to deal with the rise of the far-right in UK politics, and the fact that Reform are likely to gain seats in the Senedd for the next term. If they do well, then we could see a Coalition Government forming in Wales between the more progressive parties. In that scenario we will need to organise effectively to defend legislation such as the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act and the work in Wales that has gone towards fighting for social justice; including for food sovereignty and agroecology.
If you are a member of Gweithwyr y Tir (LWA Cymru) and want to put your shoulder to that wheel, or get involved in any campaigns work in Wales, please contact me (Ian Rappel) on ian.j.rappel@landworkersalliance.org.uk
For more information about Gweithwyr y Tir, see here.
