There is no denying that the paperwork and bureaucratic burden facing farmers has increased significantly in recent years. While legislation and regulation play an important role in underpinning the world-leading environmental, animal welfare and food production standards that Welsh farmers uphold, the cumulative impact of these requirements is becoming increasingly unsustainable.

In many cases, farmers are required to submit the same information multiple times across different schemes, inspections and regulatory processes administered by various organisations. This duplication creates unnecessary bureaucracy, diverts valuable time and resources away from farm businesses, and reduces the time farmers can dedicate to what they do best - producing food and managing the land.

Recognising these growing pressures, a key FUW manifesto commitment ahead of the Senedd election was the introduction of an independent review of the bureaucratic burden placed on family farms. The objective is to identify opportunities to streamline on-farm requirements through earned recognition, greater use of technology, improved data-sharing and more innovative, proportionate approaches to regulation.

Against this backdrop, the FUW welcomed last week's announcement by the Welsh Governments’ Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability of an independent review into the bureaucratic burden facing Welsh farming businesses.

Led by beef and sheep farmer and former NFU Cymru President John Davies, the review will assess the cumulative impact of regulation, inspections, data requests and administrative requirements across the sector. Over the next nine months, it will engage directly with farmers, land managers and professional agents to gain a clear understanding of the practical challenges associated with complying with multiple regulatory and assurance schemes, and identify ways of reducing unnecessary duplication while maintaining high standards.

While the FUW looks forward to engaging with the review, it is worth noting that this is not the first attempt to address the issue. More than a decade ago, the 2011 Working Smarter report highlighted the complex, fragmented and often burdensome regulatory system facing Welsh farmers, and made a series of recommendations aimed at reducing unnecessary bureaucracy.

Unfortunately, many of the concerns identified at that time remain as relevant today as they were then, with farmers continuing to face increasing administrative demands from multiple organisations and regulatory bodies. The challenge now is to ensure that this latest review does not simply revisit familiar issues, but delivers meaningful and lasting change that reduces duplication, streamlines compliance requirements and allows farmers to focus on running productive, sustainable businesses, whilst maintaining our world-leading food standards.