8. Plaid Cymru Debate: The food sector

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:56 pm on 2 December 2020.

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Photo of Llyr Gruffydd Llyr Gruffydd Plaid Cymru 5:56, 2 December 2020

Janet Finch-Saunders is right; farmers are exposed to a disproportionate share of risk within the food system, but, again, what share of the Brexit risk will Welsh farmers have to shoulder? But she did highlight calls for 2 per cent of land to be dedicated to horticulture; I think it's 0.1 per cent of the total farm area at the moment. But then again, we saw UK food box schemes oversubscribed by 82 per cent during the recent pandemic, with average waiting lists of 160 people, so we have the climate, we have the fertile soil, we have close proximity to heavily populated areas. I think there is huge potential in that respect, and we need to do more.

Helen Mary Jones referred to the Hendy example of selling milk directly. I suppose it's the dairy equivalent of the veg box, isn't it, really? And it's about retaining that local pound, which brought us on to public procurement, and I made the analogy before that our local economy is too often like a leaking bucket, with a number of holes in it, where all the local value flows out of the local community, and we need to be plugging those holes as best we can, and food certainly has a big role in that respect.

Jenny again reminded us about Brexit as well, and 96 per cent of red meat exports go to the EU. And Kevin Roberts, the chair of Hybu Cig Cymru, reminded us in that seminar that Janet mentioned earlier that a 'no deal' outcome would mean a 30 per cent collapse in farm-gate prices. So, the stakes are high and time is scarce; 28, 29 days from now, and we still don't know what's ahead.

Thank you to Delyth as well. It's a stark, stark statistic, isn't it, that a third of children are living in poverty? Let's just pause and think about that. A third of children living in poverty. Making sure they have food is one thing, but making sure they have healthy food is a whole other challenge as well. And as she was speaking, I was reminded, there was an article in the British Medical Journal a couple of years ago warning that the next public health crisis—obviously not knowing that coronavirus was on its way—but the next public health crisis could well be child nutrition. In the UK. Now that tells us something about the kind of society that we're living in at the moment, doesn't it, and the kind of challenge ahead, when it comes to food?

I think, Huw, you hit the nail on its head, really: what are we trying to achieve out of the food system? Maybe it shouldn't have taken us 20 years of devolution to be asking ourselves that question, but we are asking it, and you're right, there have been initiatives, but maybe not as comprehensive and not as keenly pursued as maybe they should have been. Well, let today's debate be that moment when we make that decision, when we make that pledge to the people of Wales, to the one third of children who live in poverty, that we will get to grips with that. And if it does mean a right to good food for everybody, then so be it: let's do it. Let's do it. And I share his concerns about the impact of the internal market Bill and post-EU funding as well, which could well hamper us, but I think we need to stiffen our resolve and make sure that we turn every stone to get this done.

Wales needs a food system that better connects the dots around all the different aspects that Members have referred to today. It's a complex task; nobody is denying that. Not only does it need a joined-up approach from Government—a more joined-up approach from Government—but also from all of the parts of the food system. I think a food commission could help draw that up or articulate how best we could make that happen, but, of course, the sooner the Welsh Government gets on with it, the sooner it can be that we can bring greater social, economic, cultural, health and environmental benefits to the people of Wales. Diolch.