Iolo Williams: ‘We are killing rural Wales and things have to change’

“We are killing rural Wales and things have to change,” says ornithologist and television presenter Iolo Williams on the eve of the Senedd debate on the Agriculture (Wales) Bill.

Sustainable Land Management is the framework of the proposed new Bill and according to the Welsh Government they are committed to supporting farmers to lower their carbon footprint whilst producing food in tune with nature.

For the first time the Senedd is considering legislation to introduce, what Welsh Government calls a “made in Wales” agricultural policy.

There are implications for farmers, the environment, the economy and culture.

Hedgerows

Having witnessed the destruction of 40 metres of hedgerow in Powys over the weekend, Iolo Williams was scathing.

“We need better regulations to safeguard our hedgerows! Very often, the only place wildlife has is the hedgerows and they’re being abused the length and breadth of Wales.”

Mr Williams hastened to add that many farmers need to be congratulated for planting new hedgerows as well as looking after established ones.

“But there are plenty of examples of hedgerows being destroyed” he added.

Speaking with Nation.Cymru as he took part in a guided tour around north Wales, Mr Williams – who had just spotted fresh otter tracks, said:

“Things have to change and we cannot continue as we are. We are polluting our rivers and our wildlife is in non-stop decline. We are killing rural Wales, without doubt so we need something that completely changes the situation (in this Bill).”

Farming unions

Mr Williams says he believes that farmers need to be paid to be guardians of wildlife. This was happening “to some extent” when Wales was part of the European Union, he said.

“But it was not enough and there were far bigger payments for intensive farming.”

Side by side with the need to protect nature goes the need for food production, says Mr Williams.

“We have to produce food – we just have to. There are many examples now of how nature and food production go hand in hand.”

The Agricultural (Wales) Bill has to be done right at the very start continued Mr Williams.

“We don’t need a weak grant system that amounts to nothing. Farmers want to see changes as well – it’s not just conservation organisations who are calling for change.

“To be perfectly honest – and I know this is going to wind some people up – in my dealings with the Farming Unions I’ve often found that it can be hard going. It’s much easier to deal directly with farmers themselves.”

Not one to shy away from plain speaking Mr Williams added: “I’m not sure that the unions, these days, represent farmers as they should.

“Who makes money out of farming these days? It’s large corporations – the big companies and so on. They make more money than anyone else.”

Difficult

Responding to Mr Williams comments, FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “We have never met with Iolo Williams, so it’s difficult to interpret what he means by ‘my dealings with the farming unions’. Our policies are formulated and voted on by scores of committees made up of farmers of all types from across Wales, as you’d expect would be the case in a democratic organisation.

“We share Mr Williams’ concerns about large corporations in the supply chain that in some cases take more than their fair share away from family farms – but Welsh farms certainly do not fit in to that category – Welsh farm payments are tapered and capped, unlike in England, and it is notable that the recipients of the largest sums of public funding through the Common Agricultural Policy are environmental charities.”

“We would be happy to meet with Mr Williams to discuss his concerns further – we already have an excellent relationship with a host of environmental organisations and share corresponding views on the vast majority of topics discussed during our meetings.”