Support for Farmers

Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 2:14 pm on 7 November 2018.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 2:14, 7 November 2018

Thank you, and thank you for your comments. You've certainly laid down the gauntlet to the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services to follow me.

I think you've raised a very important point around stability, and certainly I've had discussions with farmers over the last couple of years around volatility. Clearly, this year, with the weather, we've absolutely seen that to the full. We had that very long, wet winter, we had heavy snow in the spring, and then we had the very dry and hot summer. I don't want to presume anything, because, as I say, we're analysing the responses to the consultation at the moment, but certainly the common agricultural policy has not provided the stability and the protection against that volatility that I think farmers want to see. And I think it's very important that, when we bring forward our Welsh agricultural policy, we do that.