Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 2:49 pm on 24 October 2018.
Cabinet Secretary, I was privileged to host the joint briefing session you referred to earlier with NFU Cymru and the Farmers Union of Wales, and I was pleased to see you at that particular event. Now, what I believe came across loud and clear at the event was that farmers across Wales are concerned that the Welsh Government is not listening to them, and this consultation is seen as a smokescreen for the Welsh Government to plough ahead and end direct payments regardless of the will of the agricultural sector or the businesses in the supply chain that would also be affected indirectly by these proposals. It's very important that any proposals going forward give food production the importance that it rightly deserves, provide parity for Welsh farmers and recognise the serious implications that these proposals could have on Wales's rural economy and, indeed, on our culture. It's crucial that the right balance is struck between land management and food production in order to protect the sustainability of the industry for the future. Therefore, will you now commit to listening to the views of Welsh farmers after this consultation closes in order to protect the sector for the future, and work with the industry to develop proposals that are fair, appropriate and that genuinely reflect the views of the farming industry and the wider rural economy here in Wales?