Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. As a Government, we support the ambition of Welsh farmers to be the most climate and nature friendly in the world, building on a reputation for high animal welfare standards, high environmental standards and the high quality of the food they produce. This ambition is under threat because of the ecological and reputational damage caused by widespread pollution from poor agricultural practice.

A prosperous future for Welsh farming will involve capturing more domestic and international demand for truly sustainable produce. I believe our farmers have the expertise and determination to achieve this, and I believe the public want the very significant support we give to the farming sector on their behalf to be focused on achieving that sustainability for the rural economy and for Wales' natural heritage. I'm aware there's been a great deal of misinformation surrounding the Government's intentions in dealing with agricultural pollution, and that some have seen it as their role to create anxiety and uncertainty in farming communities, rather than to carefully scrutinise, to put forward constructive ideas, and to responsibly inform the public about the issues at hand. Jenny Rathbone referred to the exaggeration about asking farmers not to pollute. Shall we just remember, it is their statutory duty not to pollute? In that context, I welcome the opportunity for this Senedd debate so that we can seek to reach a consensus on the need for change and around the need to support the sector to implement existing good practice measures as a first step towards making both our farming sector and our natural environment more resilient.

Earlier this month, I made regulations before the Senedd to set in law a net-zero emissions target for Wales. I hope this ambition for an urgent and accelerating response to the climate emergency is shared by everyone in this Senedd. I do know that the ambition is strongly supported by Wales' farming unions, who have themselves set a net-zero goal for the sector. The scientific evidence is clear: the scale of the net-zero challenge means we cannot afford to put off until tomorrow the emissions reductions we can achieve today. It is not credible for opposition parties to say they support the net-zero goal if they are not willing to follow the scientific advice on the measures we need to take to meet it and the timescales to which we have to work, where there is no room for delays or reversals. All I've heard from Members of opposition parties this afternoon is a call for inaction; this Government is about action.

Implementing good practice in nutrient management means planning where, when and how to spread slurry in a way that minimises the losses to the environment that are otherwise driving our emissions up to unsustainable levels. The farming sector has a very broad contribution to make to providing the solutions we need to the climate and biodiversity emergencies. Raising the standards of nutrient management such that the good standard already met by many becomes the minimum standard is one of the most important and immediate actions they can take, and I hope the whole Senedd can agree these steps are now needed. 

Sadly, it remains the case that, because of shortcomings in nutrient management in some parts of the farming sector, we still see far too many preventable agricultural pollution incidents. Even on the eve of this debate, I was alerted last night to a substantial slurry incident on a river and estuary in Pembrokeshire. The incident has not been self-reported and therefore investigations by NRW are under way. Janet Finch-Saunders said one incident is too many; well, let me tell you, over 100 every year for over 20 years is far too many. These incidents kill wildlife, they poison our air, our soil and our water. They increase greenhouse gas emissions, and they damage the good reputation of Welsh farming. I hope, therefore, all Members of the Senedd can agree with me and those in our farming communities and the wider public who say we have had enough of these incidents; we will no longer accept the poor practice that causes them. And I repeat what Janet Finch-Saunders said—one such incident is one too many.