In this guest briefing, Dr Mary Dobbs and Dr Ludivine Petetin provide a basis to understand, evaluate and develop Welsh agricultural policies – especially financial supports – in an evolving context. It has been produced as part of the Senedd’s knowledge exchange programme.
The authors consider unique aspects of Welsh agriculture and its multi-faceted roles in society – economic, environmental and social. They also highlight some of the legal and political parameters that agricultural policy operates within. Domestic considerations include dependence on the UK Treasury for agricultural funding, the impacts of the UK Internal Market Act 2020 and evolving common frameworks. Internationally, there are a raft of binding laws including in World Trade Organisation (WTO) law, environmental law and individual trade agreements. The UK Agriculture Act 2020’s provisions on agricultural support and the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture are also key. This briefing considers the evolving relationship with the EU, focusing on the UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. It outlines issues regarding regulatory baselines, the vulnerability and turbulence in this policy area, and the need for resilience, before concluding with some future considerations that will need to be monitored carefully.
Guest research briefing by Dr Mary Dobbs (Maynooth University) and Dr Ludivine Petetin (Cardiff University)
