6. Statement by the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs: Food and Drink Wales Cluster Network

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:32 pm on 3 December 2019.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 5:32, 3 December 2019

Thank you, Andrew, for the series of questions. I think you make a really important point about the consumers wanting to know more about the provenance of their food, and, certainly, in the three and a half years I've been in this portfolio, I've seen a huge increase in the numbers of people attending food festivals, food halls at our agricultural shows, and you can see they're very keen to buy the Welsh produce. And you see it also in the supermarkets, and I think it's really important that supermarkets have that offer of Welsh produce. And, again, it's something that I've been very encouraged about in our business lounge at the Royal Welsh Show, where a huge amount of business is done. I think we met with—officials met with some, and I met some—about 90 per cent of the entire supermarket network, for want of a better word. We met with representatives of those supermarkets to ensure that their consumer, and people right across Wales, and the UK, are able to buy Welsh produce if they choose to do so.

You talk about the cluster network, and this is probably the only example, I think, we have of this cluster policy in the Welsh Government. And I was very lucky to go out to both Catalonia and the Basque Country, about 18 months ago, to look at their cluster network—at the food cluster network in particular. But both of those countries, particularly Catalonia, have had a cluster policy for many, many years—I think it's about 30 years. So, they've got a cluster for children, for instance, and all organisations and companies can pay into that cluster if they make children's furniture, if they make children's clothes. So, it's not just about one type of food, and that's what we've done here—you mentioned the fine foods, we've got the drinks cluster—so it's about a variety of organisations coming together, and supporting each other. And the one thing I really like about the cluster policy is that—you mentioned the honey cluster, and, as I say, it's the newest one that we've got. And to actually sit round the table—I've been fortunate to meet them a couple of times—they are competitors, but they're really happy to share that best practice that you referred to.

I think it is important that we keep it fresh, and I suppose the way we keep it fresh is by ensuring we bring on new cluster networks, but it is peer-led, a lot of it, also. And certainly, I think the export programme that we've got, where you have people supporting each other—. So, I know in my own constituency I've got Wrexham Lager, and the managing director there is really keen to support other new companies who are looking to export. I know there's a company in Jeremy Miles's constituency in Neath that I visited with him, so they've buddied up with each other, and they in turn, then, support each other's food festivals, for instance. So, I think they're keeping it fresh themselves by ensuring that they support one another.

In relation to the climate emergency, I know you've asked a couple of times about different targets. You'll be aware that our target is for 2050, and currently it's a 95 per cent reduction in emissions. I'm going to the Conference of the Parties this weekend, where it will be good to hear about best practice from other countries. The UK Committee on Climate Change, which is our advisory body and gives me advice, have said that our target should be 95 per cent. I've asked them to go back and see if we can achieve 100 per cent. They are very ambitious targets, as you say, and I think it's really important that we do not just take companies with us, but we also take the public with us as well. And I think people do recognise that we can't just keep doing things the way we have done. We have to do different things.

You asked about the RDP, and it's a good opportunity to talk about Food Innovation Wales and Project Helix. We have three Food Innovation Wales centres of excellence, which I'm sure the Member's aware of, the ZERO2FIVE one at Cardiff Metropolitan University, one in Horeb in Ceredigion and the Food Technology Centre in Llangefni. We've also got Project Helix. That's now being delivered under the Food Innovation Wales brand, and that's supported by £21.2 million of RDP funding. Again, it will gather information on food production, on trends, on waste, which is very important and which you raised, from across the globe, and they will then transfer that knowledge to our food processors, producers and manufacturers. And it's expected to generate over £100 million to the Welsh economy, and create and safeguard thousands of jobs. I know the first data I received showed we were well on target to doing that.