Thank you, and I formally move our amendment.

The motion tabled by UKIP regards proposals to reform agricultural support, and, more specifically, support to upland sheep farmers. As Members are aware, and it's been referred to, we're currently consulting on 'Brexit and our land'. In it, we propose measures that are very different to those in this motion. The consultation runs until 30 October and I would encourage anyone interested to respond. The document was developed following detailed discussions with members of my ministerial Brexit round-table, which included representatives from environmental NGOs and farming unions. Many of those members have told me that there were no surprises in that final document, because they'd been so involved in those discussions. The need for change is a direct result of the UK leaving the EU, and several Members in this Chamber were very keen to call for Brexit, but seem less keen to deal with the consequences and the many challenges it brings. The Welsh Government continues to push the UK Government for guarantees that funding for farming will be maintained at pre-Brexit levels, as was promised by the 'leave' campaign, and that funding will not be Barnettised. The First Minister has said this funding will be ring-fenced for agriculture.

Wales needs a future farming policy that will deal with the specific changes the sector is likely to experience following the UK's exit from the EU, particularly around trade and competitiveness. We can all agree on the need to keep Welsh farmers farming; this is the first principle of our reforms. However, the challenges Welsh agriculture will face in a post-Brexit future require a sophisticated solution that works for all farmers, not a return to failed policies of the past. Simply increasing the number of sheep on the hills will not enable farmers to thrive post Brexit. The outcomes of trade arrangements will need to be taken into account, but, of course, currently we have no idea what access to the EU market will look like.

I note Plaid Cymru's points around risks posed by leaving the single market and customs union. However, the current payment schemes will not enable farmers to mitigate those risks by adapting their businesses to the new economic environment. The basic payment scheme is the largest source of common agricultural policy funding. However, as a form of income support, it does not provide incentives for innovation, nor embed business efficiency. Over the last 10 years, with the current system of payments, productivity has declined. GVA from agriculture in Wales has declined during a period when overall Welsh GVA has increased by over 80 per cent. Over the same period, food security has reduced, and habitats and species associated with agriculture have seen a downward trend.