5. What measures will the Welsh Government introduce to support Welsh farmers in the next twelve months? OAQ54244

We will continue to provide the range of support currently available, including our Farming Connect advice service, the basic payment scheme, and a range of other Welsh Government support, such as the sustainable production grant. We continue to call on the UK Government to provide further clarity on the level of agricultural funding that will be returned to Wales after Brexit.

Thank you very much for that reply, Minister, but your Government's latest farm income forecasts in Wales show that the average farm income is expected to decrease by 15 per cent compared to the previous year. Income from dairy farms is down 23 per cent, less favoured area cattle and sheep farms are down 9 per cent, and lowland cattle and sheep farms are down a massive 29 per cent. Given the vital importance of farming to the Welsh economy, to our rural communities and environments, what measures are you going to take to reverse the downturn in farm income and ensure the future viability of the farming industry in Wales? Please don't forget that we are an agricultural economy in the United Kingdom. We have to look after our farmers in Wales. Thank you. 

I absolutely agree with you that we need to look after our farmers in Wales. The biggest threat to them is Brexit, and the uncertainty around Brexit. So you ask what we'll be doing in the next 12 months; well, one of the things that we might have to do is a rescue package for the sheep sector, because as farmers say to me, 'What happens on 1 November if we do crash out of the European Union with no deal, and I take my lambs to the market and there's nobody there to buy them?' So that is one thing that we may have to do over the next 12 months.

What we have been doing is trying to make our farms as productive as possible, so I mentioned the funding I gave to ensure that red meat benchmarking was undertaken. We'd previously done that in relation to the dairy sector, so there's a huge amount of work going into the agricultural sector from this Government to ensure that the future is bright for the sector, which is so important to Wales. But I have to say, the biggest threat at the moment is a 'no deal' Brexit.