Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:24 pm on 2 December 2020.
I think we must remember the huge importance of the food and drink industry now here in Wales. And just to give a couple of examples, the industry as it stands—and we could, of course, do so much more—has a £22.1 billion turnover and employs 229,000 workers directly, and there is a bit of a tendency, sometimes, to think that all of those are not good-quality jobs and that that's not a sector to aspire to, but that simply isn't true, although there is much we can do to improve the quality of some of that work. The food and drink industry can be a great place for young people to build a career, and I think we need to send that message clearly, and that's right across the industry, from the very beginning, where the produce originates on the farm, right the way through to where we sell it. As Llyr has said, it's a vital part of our economy, but it's also so much more than that.