Rachel Lewis-Davies has been appointed as the environment and rural affairs adviser at the NFU Cymru (Wales) headquarters at the Royal Welsh Showground, in Builth Wells.
Lewis-Davies, a partner in a 270-acre hill farm with her husband, joins NFU Cymru with significant experience in the agricultural industry.
She arrives from Menter a Busnes, where she was the development manager for the Farming Connect Knowledge Transfer Programme. Lewis-Davies also has a BSc in environmental management, and a post-graduate certificate in European rural development.
The environment and rural affairs adviser role is a new position in NFU Cymru, and the body hopes it will allow greater resource to be dedicated to this increasingly important area.
Lewis-Davies will take the lead for NFU Cymru on Rural Development Plan (RDP) Wales and the various schemes that will run under the next RDP as well as on all environment-related issues in Wales.
Commenting on her new appointment, Lewis-Davies said: “This is an exciting time in my career and I am very much looking forward to working for NFU Cymru. Environmental issues are of increasing importance to farmers and I hope to represent members’ interests and lobby effectively whilst keeping them up-to-date and informed of the latest developments.”
Welcoming her new recruit, Mary James, NFU Cymru director, said: “I would like to welcome Rachel to the organisation. Rachel has a wealth of practical farming experience which combined with her knowledge and understanding of environmental and rural matters will place NFU Cymru in good stead for dealing with some really big issues that are on the horizon such as the next Rural Development Plan for Wales and a further review of Glastir (the new all-Wales Agri-Environment Scheme recently introduced by the Welsh Government).”
