7. How will the Welsh Government ensure a sustainable future for small and medium-scale family-run mixed arable and livestock farming in the south Wales valleys? OQ56801

Thank you. I propose to create a new system of farm support, which maximises the protective power of nature through farming. This will be available to all types of farms in Wales, rewarding our active farmers who take action to respond to the climate and nature emergencies, supporting them to produce food sustainably.

I thank the Minister for that answer, and ‘active farmers’ are key to that answer. Cwm Risca farm, which I know very well—I’ve visited them many times, most recently in the last couple of weeks—is a classic, small to medium-scale family-run enterprise. It’s diversified. It’s award winning as well. It’s mixed arable and livestock. It does the right thing for its fields, it does the right thing for the community, for the environment—it’s the type of farming that supports the local community and culture as well. It’s the type of farming we should be supporting in Wales, and it’s the opposite of the absentee-landlord, speculator-driven agri-industrial type of farming we see elsewhere.

So, in these uncertain times, Minister, with changes in funding, waiting for funding from the UK Government to be confirmed post Brexit as well, our biodiversity targets and climate change targets are stretching as well, how can we give the assurance that this type of farming is the type of farming we will see for the long term, for sustainable food, a sustainable environment and sustainable communities in Wales? And would she at some time come and visit Cwm Risca, because I know the welcome would be good, the discussion great, and the cake and tea good as well?

The cake and tea is always good on farm visits, I’ve always found, and certainly I’d be very happy to do a visit, if they would like to invite me, Huw.

Small and medium-scale farms play an absolutely fundamental role in the resilience of so many of our rural communities, and that’s why they must be protected. As you say, it’s been a very uncertain time, and continues to be, for our agricultural sector, certainly because of EU exit, I think, primarily.

Next week, I will be making a statement on the next steps in relation to our sustainable farming scheme. At the current time, we are conducting a range of analysis to explore the potential impacts of our proposals, therefore helping us then to design our scheme to provide those opportunities for farms across Wales. The future scheme’s got to work for farmers. It’s got to work for all farms—small, medium and large—so that they can help us achieve our ambitions, because they absolutely see themselves as part of the solution to the difficulties that we face.

We’re going to have a further phase of co-design with the industry. I think it’s fair to say our co-design has certainly been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic—we’re not as far forward as we would have liked to have been. So, we’ve really stepped up that co-design work over the past couple of months to make sure that we shape our proposals in the correct way. We’ve had a great response from the agricultural sector for that first phase of the work, and I really, again, would encourage any farmer to get involved in the next phase.

And finally, question 8, Paul Davies.