A significant £9.2 million has been injected into the Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) Red Meat Development Programme to help Welsh farming prepare for a post-Brexit world.
The programme is said to engage with all aspects of the supply chain, boosting farm productivity while ensuring that future red meat production meets the demand of an ever-changing consumer, both at home and abroad.
The programme will be delivered by HCC in collaboration with a range of industry partners, and will consist of strategic projects that will focus on animal health, genetics and meat quality.
HCC will lead an ambitious workstream which is said to demonstrate the long-term benefits of proactive flock and herd health planning.
Its genetics project will seek to highlight how using rams with known genetic performance can have a positive impact on the Welsh sheep flock.
The third component of the programme will be a supply chain led project that will look to assess and develop the meat quality of Welsh Lamb.
The three elements within the Red Meat Development Programme aim to help the red meat industry to efficiently produce high quality products that will grow market share at home and abroad, as the future trading landscape continues to evolve.
HCC’s industry development and relations manager John Richards said: “This is an exciting programme of investment in our red meat sector, taking a whole supply chain approach. HCC believes strongly in the future of the industry.”
Speaking at the HCC breakfast at the Royal Welsh Show, Lesley Griffiths, Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, said: “I am delighted to be able to announce this morning that I have approved £9.2m from the Rural Development Programme to support HCC’s Red Meat Development Programme.
“The programme will play an important role in facilitating an improvement in the competitiveness of the red meat supply chain in Wales. As we prepare to leave the EU, this funding will help drive up the red meat industry’s resilience pre and post-Brexit.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
