Why is this important? Well, you may say that 16,000 hectares of land is insignificant in the wider scheme of things, but I want to make the case for its significance in ensuring a thriving future for farming in Wales.

Council-owned farms were developed more than a century ago to enable people without farming connections or land to work in agriculture. Now, I'd argue they're needed more than ever today, especially as we're seeing an ageing farming population, with the average age of Welsh farmers being over 60, and other circumstances conspiring to make it even more difficult for our younger generations to work the land.

So, these council farms offer a unique window of opportunity for those keen to enter agriculture. And whilst not decrying those with many years of experience in any way, it's always important for any industry or sector to allow new blood to come in with fresh ideas and new perspectives. Without innovation and change, agriculture, like any other sector, would stagnate.

It should also be remembered that there are economic incentives for councils too, as the rent from county farms contributes to council balances. Councils across Wales made a net surplus of £2.7 million last year to help balance budgets and protect front-line services. Productive and thriving council farms are beneficial, not just from a financial perspective, but they bring so many more wider benefits to whole communities.

So, let's put our council farms to work in a much more creative way. Why not strike up a partnership between councils and agricultural colleges to use council farms as an opportunity for the brightest and the best of our next generation of farming to farm the land? On the understanding that they innovate and that they test and trial new systems and farming methods as part of the deal. Let's hardwire new thinking and the promotion of best practice into the system. Let's put our public farm estate to work, not just for those farming individuals, but for wider society.

And why stop there? There are other organisations that need to be part of this discussion and part of this wider movement. Look at what the National Trust in Wales is doing at Llyndy Isaf. The farm was bought by the trust around 10 years ago now. Since then, working with the young farmers' clubs in Wales, a succession of young farmers have been given a bursary to make the farm work in a modern and sustainable way. Conservation farming is as much a part of this scheme as food production, which is very much in line with our aspirations for the sector. It's a fantastic opportunity for a young person aged between 18 and 25 to have the chance to manage a farm and to learn about the business, with the support and advice of mentors who are on hand to help if needed. Now, that was a conscious decision by the National Trust to put its asset to work in that particular way.

So, my challenge today is for us to enable councils to stop looking at council farms as a quick fix to their funding problems. Let's take that longer term, more sustainable view. Let's put the public farm estate to work much more creatively for society. If we're serious about the future of rural Wales, of making sure that young people are able to live and work in rural communities, and that our farming industry is fit for purpose for the challenges of the twenty-first century, then we have to say 'no' to short-termism. Is that not what the well-being of future generations Act is all about? Isn't that why we as a legislature made sustainable development a central organising principle of the public sector here in Wales?

We mustn't, therefore, stand idly by watching this drip, drip, drip of council farms disappearing without any thought being given to what we're losing. We should be turning every stone to support local councils to be able to resist the fire sale of such an important social, economic, environmental and cultural asset—the four cornerstones of sustainable development in Wales. The very least we can do is bring all the players together to consider how we can not only stem the loss of our public farm estate, but turn it into an asset that delivers for our rural communities and wider society across Wales.

So, with all that in mind, I call on the Welsh Government, working with the future generations commissioner, to get actively involved in this matter and bring all the players together to tackle this issue. Publicly owned farms should be part of a wider movement to ensure we have a sustainable farming industry at the heart of our rural communities. The relentless selling off of our farms is a short-term solution for hard-pressed councils, but we have to take a stand against it.

Future generations who wish to put a first foot on the farming ladder need our support. That's why I've worked with those aiming to keep farms such as Trecadwgan in the public realm. This is a council farm in danger of ending its life as a living, working farm and disposed of as an asset by Pembrokeshire County Council. Trecadwgan has the potential to be a model for the future, diversifying into a community farm. They are farms that successfully combine agriculture with areas such as health and care, cultural activities, lifelong learning, job creation, and artisan businesses. These can be the lifeblood of rural communities, adding to their sustainability, and of course to the well-being of their people.

Now, I'm pragmatic enough to accept that there may be certain circumstances where selling a council farm is the only viable option. Having tried everything else, if sale is the only remaining alternative, then let's make sure that local communities have first refusal, and let's do it in a way that affords those communities the time and the support they need to make that a realistic and a viable prospect. Yes, it might take a bit longer than it would otherwise and, yes, it might not generate as much cash upfront as councils would wish, but in the longer term it would reap so much more and provide so much greater value for the community and the council, compared to a quick sale. Welsh Government and councils should learn from the example of Trecadwgan farm and make sure that all communities have a chance to play their part when these opportunities arise.

Those involved in the fight for Trecadwgan have issued a list of necessary policy changes emerging from their battle. I believe that the Welsh Government should look closely at those suggestions. Amongst them is that the Welsh Government should create a land reform review group, similar to that operating in Scotland, with a brief to examine: the extent to which lack of access to land may cramp people's aspirations and opportunities; the impacts upon employment and the rural economy stemming from that; and ways in which access to land—both rural and urban, by the way—could and should be improved. They've also called for a review of the General Disposal Consent (Wales) Order, to give much greater weight to the interests of future generations, rather than just the best price in these situations.

We also need to consider a national community wealth fund, so that we can actually help acquire farmland for community ownership. In addition, there are calls on the Welsh Government to introduce a Welsh agricultural land bank—a financial bank. As well as providing low and zero-interest loans for new entrants, this land bank could provide finance for communities looking to purchase land and farms, including county farms. It could also help local authorities to buy new land to grow the county farm estate. Now, these are all practical proposals, and I'd be really interested in hearing what the Minister has to say about these kinds of suggestions.

The current trajectory of selling council farms just isn't acceptable. What's even less acceptable, of course, is the lack of action that we're seeing from Welsh Government, who should not only be helping and working with councils to protect this important asset, but also be making sure that it's used to maximise the benefit, not just for the sector, but for wider society. Safeguarding our land, our environment, our people and our culture are all bound up in having a vision and an ambition for our public farms.