Statement from Plantlife Cymru – Sustainable Farming Scheme

Statement from Plantlife Cymru: Welsh farmers get clarity about the Universal Layer of the upcoming SFS but the scheme lacks ambition and finance to drive change for nature.

Lesley Fletcher, Head of Plantlife Cymru said: “We are delighted that after 10 years of planning, consultation and negotiation Welsh farmers finally have clarity on what they need to do to enter the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) when it opens January 2026.

We welcome Welsh Government’s stipulation that 10% of a farmer’s land must be actively managed for biodiversity alongside food production; this signals a strong ambition which Plantlife Cymru applauds.

However, we are concerned that the SFS as it stands will do little to remedy the dire state of nature in Wales. The Universal Layer of the scheme unveiled today does not drive the change that is urgently needed if we are to meet international commitments on nature in the Global Biodiversity Framework such as managing 30% of land for nature by 2030. Welsh Government has indicated that real change to benefit nature on the ground will come as a result of the Optional and Collaborative layers of the scheme – of which there are no details yet. The financial incentive for farmers to do more for nature looks likely to be weak since 70% of the budget has already been allocated to the Universal Layer. This is a poor deal for biodiversity and jeopardises the targets which WG itself is in the process of setting in its Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) Bill.

Plantlife Cymru calls on Welsh Government to properly incentivise farmers to turn back the tide of nature loss and mitigate against the impact of climate breakdown. Given the current budget pressures, this must include setting strong frameworks and policy drivers to mobilise private finance to work alongside the SFS. Real money is the only way that real change can happen.

We also urge the Government to ensure that any trees planted under the Scheme are not put into good quality habitat which is already delivering for nature, such as species-rich grassland.”