Diolch, Llywydd. I very much welcome Plaid Cymru’s motion, and we were very pleased we were able to agree with Plaid Cymru our White Paper, ‘Securing Wales’ Future’. It is clear our views on the future of agriculture and rural development post Brexit are close. Most importantly, we are absolutely clear agriculture and rural development is and must remain devolved. We’ve made it very clear we will not tolerate any attempts by the Conservatives to deprive this Assembly of its existing powers, or deprive Wales of funding also, and that’s why we completely oppose amendment 2 from the Conservative group, which clearly reflects the UK Tories’ agenda of taking back control, not just from Brussels, but from Cardiff, also, and probably Edinburgh and Belfast as well.

More generally, we are committed to safeguarding our rural and environmental interests, and explore every opportunity to benefit our farming, land management, and food sectors once we’ve exited the EU. Our focus remains on continuing to deliver key economic, social and environmental benefits to Wales.

The Welsh Government published the figure of 80 per cent of farm income in Wales comprising of European payments. However, it should be noted farm incomes fluctuate—many are negative—however, we agree the majority will rely on CAP funding to some degree.

Following the decision for the UK to leave the EU, I quickly established a round-table group with stakeholders across my portfolio to discuss the implications arising from the referendum vote, and the work of the round table has added significant value, as it’s enabled a cross-sectorial approach to be taken, enabling us to consider the issues in an integrated way, for example on all parts of the supply chain. The farming unions and other stakeholders have been warmly appreciative of this approach. And the process has underlined the strength of the links between areas like agriculture, communities, and the wider environment. It’s also a real strength for Wales’s input and potential influence on the process to have stakeholders actively engaged and collaborating to secure the most beneficial path for Wales as possible. The work of the round-table complements the work we’re undertaking in parallel with each of the individual sectors to consider the detailed sectoral impacts of the UK’s exit from the EU. In March, I committed the final tranche, totalling £223 million, of the 2014-20 rural development programme to make full use of HM Treasury’s guarantee to 2020. But there remains a clear need for longer-term commitments from the UK Government.

It is essential, after we leave the EU, that the UK Government delivers on its promise during the ‘leave’ campaign to provide Welsh Government with at least equivalent funding to replace what is currently being received through the CAP. Both I and the First Minister have made it very clear we will hold them to this. However, the lack of such a commitment to date—and Simon Thomas mentioned in his opening remarks that just yesterday the Prime Minister, on a visit to north Wales, didn’t provide that commitment when she was sitting at a farmer’s table, having a cup of tea, I noticed. It’s a real worry about the long-term investment that we know is needed to secure the future of our farming industry so that our farmers, our land managers, our rural businesses and our rural communities have the certainty that they need to plan for the future.

Alongside the funding, it’s critical we in this Assembly continue to lead the work in shaping a future agricultural policy that is tailored to the distinct needs of the industry in Wales. A majority in Wales did vote to leave the EU, and we have made clear this democratic decision must be respected. However, we do not believe anyone in Wales voted to be worse off, to see harm done to our economy or our public health services, and we are determined to secure a positive future for Wales in a post-Brexit world.

How food imports are affected by Brexit is not clear at present and won’t be until the UK has progressed trade talks with the EU and other countries. I’ve heard the Prime Minister say no deal would be better than a bad deal, but, quite frankly, that’s a ridiculous statement, because there has to be a deal. The Tories seem to be prioritising deals with other countries over maintaining our access to the single market and appear willing to sacrifice agriculture in the interests of quick wins with countries like the USA and New Zealand, which are very keen to access our markets.

For us in the Welsh Government, by contrast, a key consideration is that UK producers are not undercut by imports where production standards are poor and that consumers are not put at risk. Imports would have to meet specified standards and would be subject to checks. What these will be, of course, depends on the detail of those trade agreements and custom arrangements, and that is why it is essential the devolved institutions have real insight into and influence on trade negotiations. Given the implications for Welsh farmers and rural communities, it’s essential that devolved administrations play a full part in discussions, not only to ensure the UK negotiating position fully reflects the UK context, but also to agree collectively the arrangements that will be in place on a UK basis following the departure from the EU, which includes trade deals.

We accept there should be common UK frameworks in a number of areas to allow effective functioning of the UK internal market post Brexit and to facilitate international trade, but, again, these will need to be collectively agreed across the four countries, and I will certainly not tolerate any imposition of such frameworks by Westminster and Whitehall. Diolch.