Mark Drakeford has warned Wales' farming community that subsidies to replace EU funding won't be provided unless it can be justified to "Bangladeshi tax drivers" in Cardiff.
In 2025, the Welsh Government will introduce a subsidy scheme to replace EU-based payments for agriculture. This will include measures to protect biodiversity including creating ponds as well as tree planting targets. Farmers will need to cover at least 10% of the land with trees in also to access future government cash. This is all part of the drive to reduce emissions and limit the damage of the unfolding climate crisis.
Speaking to the BBC the First Minister said farmers must "do things that taxpayers are willing to invest in" to keep receiving subsidies. He said that he needed to "justify to Bangladeshi taxi drivers" in the Riverside area of Cardiff who tax payers money was going to farmers.
