CLA Cymru is calling on the next Welsh Government to work collaboratively to unlock the potential of rural Wales.
The organisation’s inaugural Rural Business Conference Wales, held at the ICC Wales in Newport, focused on driving rural growth.
Delegates heard from business leaders around challenges facing the tourism, food and farming sectors as well as opportunities for the future of rural Wales.
Bella Murfin, Director General of the CLA, told Business News Wales that a partnership approach was key:
Jonathan Roberts, Director of External Affairs at the CLA, said the organisation was:
“fighting for a vision of a prosperous rural economy where businesses can succeed, people can find a job, people have that quality of life”.
He said that required an open dialogue with a government which was prepared to listen, was open to ideas and was willing to implement ideas quickly.
“The most important thing for a new Welsh government is to show some ambition for the rural economy,” said Jonathan. “We all know, running businesses in the countryside right up and down Wales, there's a huge amount of potential.
“There's no shortage of aspiration, there is no shortage of entrepreneurship. We know that we can create really good jobs. We know we can bring money into our communities and make those communities more vibrant and more stable and more sustainable. But what we need is a government that works with us to unlock that potential.”
