6. Statement by the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs: Sustainable Farming and our Land

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:19 pm on 9 July 2019.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 5:19, 9 July 2019

Thank you, Andrew R.T. Davies, for those questions and comments. I take your comments around the tone changing as welcoming that. I made it very clear last year, when we went out to consultation on 'Brexit and our land', that it was a meaningful consultation and that we would listen. We had over 12,000 responses—not all individual ones, but I certainly read many of the individual responses that came in—and food production was something that was right at the fore and that there should be this focus on food production. We did have food in the 'Brexit and our land' consultation; I don't think 'Health and harmony' had it at all. And, of course, I recognise that farmers are food producers. However, I think what's very different in 'Sustainable Farming and our Land' is the connection between food production and environmental outcomes, and I think it is very important that that's there.

You are right, it is an exciting time to be able to have a Welsh agricultural policy. As you know, I was a passionate remainer, so whilst it is an opportunity, I wish I wasn't having to do it. However, we have been very clear that any funding that comes from the UK Government—. And we expect them to keep their promise that we wouldn't lose a penny. So, at the moment, I get around €330 million, which lands in my budget and goes straight out to farmers and land managers within the common agricultural policy. So, whilst I heard you refer to what Joyce Watson said—. And she makes a very, very good point: ring fencing nothing doesn't give you very much. It's really, really important that we get some clarity. I've just signed a letter to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in DEFRA—you know, we are trying to get clarity about the level of funding. As you know, I meet regularly with my UK counterparts, and we have asked for a Treasury Minister to be present at those meetings to gain some knowledge around what funding we are going to get. Unfortunately, to date, apart from one phone-in, we haven't been able to do that.

You referred to the bespoke plans and I absolutely take your knowledge of what you have to go through to be part of those schemes, so I think it's really important that we make it as simple as possible. I think one of the reasons that so many farmers voted to leave the European Union—what they tell me is it was because of the bureaucracy and the red tape around CAP. And I've said many times that if we make it more complex, we will have failed; it's really important that we don't do that. So, nothing's been decided in relation to that. The consultation and the co-designed proposals and the process that we will enter with, co-designing the scheme with farmers, because they're the ones who are going to have to work with them—it will allow us to design a scheme that will be streamlined for those participating. I want to ensure that any future proposals are practical and that they can be delivered. So, it's ambitious, and I think we should be ambitious, but I think also we have to be pragmatic.

We intend for all farmers to be able to implement actions to deliver outcomes appropriate to their farms, and it's really important that we do have those bespoke plans, because one size will not fit all. As far as I can see, every farm is different. Every farm that I visit is certainly different, so I think it is really important. And the farm sustainability review will provide the opportunity for the adviser and the farmer to work together to determine the most appropriate actions on each farm. I was asked, certainly by the media, how did I envisage that we would have enough people to go out and visit every farm in Wales. And we obviously have Rural Payments Wales, who have done some outstanding work in relation to payments and working with farmers, so we have got something to build on. So, while I do think it's ambitious, I think it's deliverable and the scheme will allow us to have the development of simple contracts tailored to the individual farmer and their business needs. You make a very important point that it has to be the active farmer that's rewarded, and clearly, if we want these environmental outcomes, having sustainability as the fundamental basis for this scheme, I think, will ensure that.

In relation to tenant farmers, I think tenant farmers are a particular group that I want to do more for. I think it's sometimes very difficult for them to be able to do what we ask them to do. I've certainly worked with many of the tenant farmers and the Tenant Farmers Association to make sure that that happens. We're obviously out to consultation at the moment, so that consultation will then feed into this. In relation to impact assessments, again, it will be an ongoing process as the proposals are worked up. We cannot do full impact assessments until we know the budget, so that's one of the reasons I am seeking clarity around the budgets, but there will be several impact assessments. There'll obviously be a Welsh language one, there'll be a rural-proofing one and there will be ones around economic well-being. And we'll also look at the impact on our natural resources, and that includes biodiversity and heritage.