NEW plans to support Welsh farmers once the UK leaves the European Union have been revealed.

The proposed new Land Management Programme will replace the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and will consist of two schemes.

The first, the Economic Resilience Scheme, will provide targeted investment to land managers and supply chains.

The second, the Public Goods Scheme, will provide a new income stream to land managers.

The Welsh Government's energy, planning and rural affairs secretary Lesley Griffiths said: “Welsh land matters.

"More than 90 per cent of Welsh land is in the hands of our farmers, foresters or other stewards of the landscape.

"How land is managed matters to us all and our land managers have the potential to produce outcomes of huge importance to Wales.

"Once we leave the EU, our access to markets and how we compete will change so maintaining the status quo is not an option.

"Exiting the EU means we have to do things differently and now is the time to prepare."

She added: "We need to change how we support our farmers and agriculture sector to make them sustainable and able to thrive in a new trading environment.

"We have the chance to design a ‘Made in Wales’ system that works for Welsh farmers and our communities.

"The programme marks a significant change.

"That is why we want to see a phased transition that balances time needed for change with the need to provide timely support.

“Our new programme aims to keep farmers farming on their land and will enable the sector to thrive in a post-Brexit world.”

No changes will be made to the existing Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) scheme in 2018 and 2019 and all current Glastir contracts will continue to be honoured. From 2020, work will begin to move to the new schemes, including a phased reduction in BPS.

It is planned to have the new schemes fully in place by 2025.

A white paper setting out detailed proposals will be published next spring.