Thousands of farmers expected in Cardiff Bay demonstration
South Wales Police is asking farmers not to bring tractors to this lunchtime's protest outside the Senedd.
Last updated 28th Feb 2024
Thousands of farmers are expected at a protest outside the Senedd in Cardiff Bay this lunchtime.
They're angry about planned reforms to agricultural subsidies.
Farmers would be required to give over more land to tree planting in exchange for funding.
Craig - a sheep and beef farmer - said: "It is going to make farmers to just to give up and sell their farms.
"I just hope we can get them to realise that we are going to stick together and try and come together as an industry and fight as much as we can to get changes.
"If it weren't for us farmers the countryside wouldn't look how it does look.
"We are an industry that every single human being needs two or three times a day.
"For us not to be valued and for them to tell us what to do is a bit of an insult on the hours we put in to feed the public."
South Wales Police says its monitoring the protest and any disruption on roads closely.
It's expected Cardiff will see slow moving traffic with the potential for issues across a wider area.
The force has also asked farmers not to bring tractors to the protest in Cardiff Bay.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Farming is very important to Wales and our economy and we want a successful future for Welsh farming.
“We have had a seven-year conversation with farmers to design future farming support and we are committed to continuing to working with farmers to develop the Sustainable Farming Scheme.
"This is a genuine consultation and no decisions will be taken on any element of the proposal, including how we achieve the requirement for habitat and trees, until we have conducted a full analysis of the consultation responses.
“We have been clear we expect changes to be made following the consultation, and we will continue to listen."