RDC(3) FOU5

Inquiry into the Future of the Uplands in Wales

Response from The National Sheep Association Wales

Introduction

National Sheep Association Cymru/Wales is pleased to be able to respond to the Welsh Assembly Government questions regarding the future of the uplands in Wales.

NSA Cymru/Wales is an integral part of NSA, which is the only UK wide specialist organisation solely representing the interests of sheep farmers.

Taking the questions in order:

What form should future public support for the uplands take (including a consideration of the European Commission’s emerging proposals for the designation of Intermediate Less Favoured Areas)?

Public support for the uplands needs to take several forms. There needs to a continuation of support for farming. Farming is one of the main sources of employment in the Welsh Uplands- both directly and through its support industries. Employment in Welsh agriculture has been falling. It is important this decline is minimised and the skills of the workforce maintained. The effects of climate change seem to be disputed but some of the models currently being published indicate that  there is a very real possibility that the Welsh uplands is one of the areas that will have to produce much of the world’s food in 50 years time. In addition there needs to be a realisation by government that basic services- schools, hospitals, ambulances, police, etcetera- need to be maintained. Closing- for example- a school because its cost per pupil is high will incentivise further emigration from the area.

How can the uplands be valued for their contribution to the social and economic future of Wales as well as the environment?

The Uplands are important to the social future of Wales in several ways. Much of the uplands are the heartland of the Welsh language. A mass emigration of the population of the uplands would lead to a severe weakening of the position of the language. Also the population of the country is already concentrated away from the uplands. Any further emigration from the uplands will lead to further stress on the services and transport systems of the populated areas. The economic contribution of the uplands has been, and hopefully will remain, based on its traditional industries. The development of the internet and e-commerce means that there is the potential to carry out a whole host of economic activity that has previously been difficult or impossible. At least in theory, e-commerce is a perfect form of farm diversification.

How can government policy work with land managers’ needs to achieve the best use of Welsh uplands?

Government policy needs to support and sustain the population in the uplands. It has to maintain a viable set of services to the uplands communities. The current rounds of proposed school closures, for instance, mean that children being born on remoter farms may have to travel in excess of 20 miles to school. One has to question whether that child has the same opportunity to go on to tertiary education as its town-raised peer. Also government policy needs to continue to support the traditional industries of the uplands. A strategy of maintaining or increasing the existing employment opportunities in the uplands has to be based on sustaining the existing business sectors and then adding others to them.

How can a value be put on the natural, ecosystem services provided by the uplands, such as carbon storage and flood management?

The best form of valuing ecosystem services is to keep the valuation as direct as possible. For instance carbon-trading is becoming well established and establishes a value of a unit of carbon. This figure can then be used to value the carbon storage of the uplands. In the same way, flood management means a lessening in flood damage. This is the value of flood management.

How can climate change and the potential impacts of climate change be built into the planning for the future of the uplands?

The models of climate change are not unanimous in their prediction of the effects of climate change. This makes planning for the effects difficult.

What are the roles of farming and forestry in the future of the uplands?

Farming and forestry are the two major forms of land use in the uplands. It is difficult to foresee any change in this situation. So these two industries are likely to remain very important in the uplands. Sheep grazing is the predominant form of land use in the higher open ground. It maintains these open spaces as such, preventing scrub encroachment etcetera.

What role does common land have in the future of the uplands?

Common land is a very old form of land ownership and management. In parts of Wales, for instance the Brecon Beacons, it is the predominant form of land ownership. It is difficult to imagine a change in the position in these areas, particularly as hills and mountains with common land on them are as important as recreational areas. The rights of grazing on a common may be a critical part of an upland farm. Sustained grazing of commons makes them more accessible for hill walkers.

In conclusion we are not convinced that it is only the environmental and landscape benefits which need to be brought into the equation even though they are of course vitally important. For we take the view that a more long-term strategic approach to farming in the hills and uplands should reflect the fact that the population of the world, currently of the order of 6.3 billion is set to increase to some 9.5 billion by the year 2050. We would make the point that this issue cannot be ignored especially against the background that the entire livestock production system of this country is one which has relied upon the breeding and trading linkages between hills, uplands and lowlands. The current serious exodus of stock and people from the remote areas of our uplands as a consequence of constant low income and increasing and apparently relentless Government interference has reduced the level of confidence in the future amongst producers to the lowest point for several generations. That is intolerable and has resulted in a totally unsustainable number of the younger people leaving the land. The effect of this is to put severe pressure on those who remain but as it is a business which involves constant application of hard physical labour we are reaching the time when there will be none of the older folk left and the younger ones will have left. Arguably, farming in the hills and uplands is the most labour intensive of all the livestock farming systems; equally it is the system which provides the most tangible benefits in terms of scenic landscape and environmental advantage. For many therefore it will be the type of farming which performs the greatest service to the public in visual and spiritual terms; yet until now it is the one which has had the poorest reward and as a consequence sustains the branch of farming under the most relentless financial pressure. We believe it is important for this to be recognised not as a threat but as a reality, the entire system is collapsing and the government needs to be aware of the fact and put serious effort in to stopping the continual erosion of confidence which has been such a feature of the past few decades. We would make the point that the landscape which is so precious is one which has been contrived by man and his stock over centuries. Due to the twin pressures of a system which is geared to relentless downward pressure on returns to primary producers by the burgeoning and unsympathetic strength of the financially strong trading giants and the conservationists who operate to a rule book without a proper understanding of all the issues, the business of farming has become a chore of monumental proportions. This is totally unhealthy and should not be something which should be tolerated in a country which prides itself on fairness.