Recently there was a big protest at the Welsh Parliament.
Thousands of farmers from across Wales, including our area, made their way down to Cardiff in order to make their voices heard against the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) and other policies which are damaging farming communities.
The SFS replaces the European Union’s funding arrangement. The Labour Government have designed it so farmers will have to plant trees on 10 per cent of their land, and give over another 10 per cent to wildlife habitat. That is one-fifth of a farmers’ land set aside just to access SFS funding.
Imagine you’re a farmer, and you have prime agricultural land which is used to produce food and make an income for your family. Then the Government forces you to remove 20 per cent of it. If someone came to you and removed one-fifth of your earning potential, you would rightly be angry.
Then there is the issue of Bovine TB. There are no badger culls in Wales to tackle the spread of Bovine TB, which then infects herds of cattle.
After testing, those cattle then need to be culled, which causes distress for farmers who care deeply for their animals. It also has a terrible financial impact, with the average cost for a farm impacted by Bovine TB a staggering £25,000.
It doesn’t stop there. Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) impose a harsh regime designed to restrict the spread of fertiliser. Until recently, around 4% of Welsh land was designated as NVZs. Now, Welsh Government have designated the whole of Wales as an NVZ, putting these restrictions on all farmers, regardless of their behaviour.
Remember, without farmers there is no food for any of us. They are guardians of the land in Wales and do it in an environmentally sustainable way. The Labour Welsh Government and their partners in the so-called ‘co-operation agreement’ Plaid Cymru must stop this assault on rural Wales.
If you have any queries or issues, then please feel free to contact me by emailing [email protected].
Fy marn i - The Leader
Bu protest enfawr yn Senedd Cymru yn ddiweddar.
Heidiodd miloedd o ffermwyr o bob cwr o'r wlad, gan gynnwys ein hardal ni, i Gaerdydd er mwyn codi llais yn erbyn Cynllun Ffermio Cynaliadwy Llywodraeth Cymru a pholisïau eraill sy'n niweidio cymunedau ffermio.
Mae'r Cynllun yn disodli trefniant ariannu'r Undeb Ewropeaidd. Mae'r Llywodraeth Lafur wedi ei gynllunio fel y bydd yn rhaid i ffermwyr blannu coed ar 10% o'u tir, a neilltuo 10% arall i gynefin bywyd gwyllt. Mae hynny'n golygu neilltuo un rhan o bump o dir ffermwyr er mwyn cael gafael ar gyllid y Cynllun.
Dychmygwch eich bod yn ffermwr, a bod gennych chi dir amaethyddol o safon sy'n cael ei ddefnyddio i gynhyrchu bwyd a chreu incwm i'ch teulu. Yna mae'r llywodraeth yn eich gorfodi i gael gwared ag 20% ohono. Pe bai rhywun yn dod atoch ac yn cymryd un rhan o bump o'ch gallu i ennill arian oddi arnoch, does dim dwywaith y byddech chi'n ddig.
Yna mae problem TB buchol. Dyw moch daear ddim yn cael eu difa yng Nghymru i fynd i'r afael â lledaeniad TB buchol, sydd wedyn yn heintio buchesi.
Ar ôl profi, mae angen difa'r gwartheg hynny, sy'n achosi gofid i ffermwyr y mae eu hanifeiliaid yn agos at eu calon. Mae’n cael effaith ariannol ofnadwy hefyd, gyda'r gost gyfartalog i fferm sydd wedi'i tharo gan TB Buchol yn swm anhygoel, sef £25,000.
Nid dyna ddiwedd y mater chwaith. Mae Parthau Perygl Nitradau’n gosod cyfundrefn lem sydd â’r nod o gyfyngu ar ledaenu gwrtaith. Tan yn ddiweddar, roedd tua 4% o dir Cymru wedi'i ddynodi'n Barthau Perygl Nitradau. Ond nawr, mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi dynodi Cymru gyfan yn Barth Perygl Nitradau, gan roi'r cyfyngiadau hyn ar bob ffermwr, heb ystyried eu hymddygiad.
Cofiwch, heb ffermwyr does dim bwyd i'r un ohonom. Nhw yw gwarcheidwaid y tir yma yng Nghymru, gan wneud hynny mewn ffordd sy'n amgylcheddol gynaliadwy. Rhaid i Lywodraeth Lafur Cymru a Phlaid Cymru, eu partneriaid yn y 'cytundeb cydweithio' honedig hwn, roi'r gorau i ymosod ar y Gymru wledig.
Os oes gennych unrhyw ymholiadau neu broblemau, yna mae croeso i chi gysylltu â mi trwy e-bostio: [email protected].
