And to give her some time to change files, I'll slow down in announcing that the next statement is by the Minister for Rural Affairs, North Wales, and Trefnydd on future farming policy and the sustainable farming scheme. So, that statement, Minister, Lesley Griffiths. 

Diolch, Llywydd. As set out in our programme for government, tackling the climate and nature emergencies are a priority for this Government. We will create a new system of farm support to maximise the protective power of nature through farming and the agriculture Bill is key to meeting these ambitions. Future farm support will reward active farmers who take action to meet the challenges of responding to the climate emergency and reversing the decline of biodiversity, supporting them to produce food sustainably.

The Agriculture (Wales) White Paper set out our proposals to support farmers to adopt a sustainable approach. This will ensure a long-term future for farming which recognises its importance to Welsh society. The White Paper consultation closed in March, and, today, I am pleased to publish an independent analysis of the responses and the Welsh Government’s response. I am grateful to all those who took time to respond.

The Counsel General set out our ambitious legislative programme on 6 July. This confirmed we will introduce a new agriculture Bill in the first year of the Senedd term. This will be an ambitious piece of legislation reforming decades of EU farm support and represents a significant change to the sector. I have decided to focus the Bill on the key areas needed to support farmers in the coming years, and, crucially, to establish a new system of farm support based on the principles of sustainable land management. The Bill will also replace the time-limited powers in the UK Agriculture Act 2020. This is the first stage of agricultural reform, which will ensure Welsh farms are sustainable.

It remains our intention to reduce the regulatory burden on farmers. We want to make it easier for farmers to understand what they must do to comply with the law through the introduction of national minimum standards. We also believe enforcement should be proportionate to the severity of the offence, and avoid the criminalisation of farmers for less serious offences. However, we recognise these proposals are complex and must be thought through carefully. In the next stage of reform we will work closely with stakeholders to ensure that national minimum standards are implemented in time for the introduction of the proposed scheme.

To provide clarity to Welsh farmers, I am also publishing a delivery plan which outlines the key milestones in this process of reform to be delivered in this Senedd term. When I bring forward legislation next year, I will publish an outline of the proposed sustainable farming scheme. This will not be the final scheme, but it will include detail on the structure and the specific actions which we are proposing farmers will be asked to undertake. The actions in the scheme will have undergone a range of analysis to estimate the economic cost to the farm business of undertaking them and the resulting environmental benefits. This will allow us to have detailed conversations with farmers on the proposals and test our thinking. 

I have always been clear we will continue to work closely with our farmers to ensure their voices are heard as future support is designed. I am pleased today to both publish a report on the first phase of co-design and commit to building on this work in a second phase next year. This will form part of an ongoing process of engagement with farmers and stakeholders, which will lead us to a final consultation on the sustainable farming scheme and our transition to the new scheme in spring 2023. Throughout 2024, we will engage with farmers through an outreach programme, and this will ensure we are ready to open the scheme in January 2025.

The farming sector has faced many challenges over the past few years and we are firm in our intention to support farmers to adapt to future changes. Next year, I will launch a range of interventions that will help both prepare the ground for the new scheme and pilot the process that will be used to deliver it.

Significant and important change is coming that will provide a stable and sustainable future for the industry and our rural communities in Wales. In the meantime, subject to sufficient funding being provided by the UK Government, it is our intention to continue with the basic payment scheme until 2023 to provide support for farmers as we work together to transition to the sustainable farming scheme. Alongside this, I will extend the Glastir advanced, commons and organics contracts by two years, to December 2023. Alongside supporting our farmers, this extension will help us further enhance our understanding of the impact of Glastir actions and interventions, and contribute to the development of the future sustainable farming scheme. This is a budget commitment of £66 million over two years for Welsh farmers. I am also announcing a further commitment of £7 million to extend the Farming Connect programme through to March 2023.

I call on the whole Senedd to support our ambitious proposals and to agree that the UK Government should provide full replacement funding for our farmers having now left the European Union. The challenges presented by the climate and nature emergencies need a continuation of the joint effort from farmers and Government. The forward plan and funding announcements I’ve made today demonstrate my and this Government's commitment to this work. Diolch.

I would like to begin by thanking the Minister for advance sight of today’s statement, and it’s quite timely as well, Llywydd, as I asked the Minister for clarity over the future of Glastir funding last Wednesday, and while no commitment was offered then, I and the farming community warmly welcome today’s announcement. Some, however, will be left scratching their heads as to why, after being told to expect an update in July, they’ve had to wait nervously for the last couple of months for today’s update. But, again, I join the farming unions in welcoming today’s commitment.

Firstly, can I seek clarification on the points regarding the national minimum standards? The Minister mentioned her intention to ensure that these are implemented ahead of the proposed new scheme. These new standards must be introduced in plenty of time, as farmers will require a period to implement changes of practice and infrastructure upgrades, some requiring capital investment. If short notice is given before the new minimum standards are introduced, will the Minister allow a transitional period to ensure farmers looking to do the right thing aren’t punished due to time constraints?

The importance of agriculture in tackling climate change should not be ignored, and while Glastir agri-environmental schemes are bringing about positive changes on farms across Wales, we can reduce our carbon footprint further by increasing our level of self-sufficiency. What consideration has the Minister given to food production and food security as part of future schemes in an effort to reduce environmentally damaging imports while supporting our domestic industry? And is there a percentage target of self-sufficiency we are looking to attain?

Finally, Llywydd, I also note from the Minister’s statement that the sustainable farming scheme will be launched in January 2025. The BPS and Glastir extension is until 2023, meaning there is a lack of clarity with regard to support afforded to farmers in 2024, the year between one scheme ending and the new scheme starting. What support is the Welsh Government offering in this transitional period to ensure a cliff edge of ceased funding is avoided? And with Scotland promising full delivery of their new scheme by 2023, and England’s new subsidy already under way, what is the cause for the delay in this roll-out here in Wales? Diolch, Llywydd.

Thank you, and thank you for your positive words in relation to the statement, and I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you last week, but I’m sure you’ll appreciate, obviously, that things were being worked up ahead of the statement today. But I am very pleased that we’ve been able to put such significant funding into Glastir contracts, and I know how warmly welcomed it has been by many of the farmers I’ve spoken to and by the National Farmers Union. I thought it was really important and, as I said in my statement, it’s really important that we carry on that evaluation monitoring so we know of the benefits that the schemes have given us.  

Around food production, I’ve been very, very clear. We’ve had three consultations now ahead of this statement today, going over, obviously, two Governments. We had 'Brexit and our land' back in 2018, then we had a further consultation in 2019, and then we obviously had the White Paper in December, which closed in March. If you look at the responses, food is absolutely out there. Sustainable food production is so important, and we were the only part of the UK that actually had the word 'food', I think—or maybe Scotland did, but, certainly, England, there was no mention of food in their first consultation. I've always been very clear that sustainable food production is something that should be very well supported. And if you look at the support the agricultural sector has given us, no-one went without food during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, and I really want to pay tribute to the work that the sector did. And it's absolutely right that sustainable food production is rewarded in the way that we have set out in the sustainable farming scheme.

In relation to the national minimum standards, as you know, that was part of the White Paper, and I was really pleased to see respondents support proposals for simplifying the existing regulatory requirements. One of the things I've heard over the past five years repeatedly is the concern that people don't understand what they have to do to comply with the law. And, again, I mentioned that it's really important people aren't criminalised in the way that has unfortunately sometimes happened. Everybody has to comply with the law, and it's really important that we all understand it, and that just relates to agriculture regulation as well. They seek to protect our environment, and it's really important they do that. So, as I say, we will look, and we are looking, at how we can bring this forward. It's a very complex piece of work that I want to get right, and I'm really pleased that the sector want to work with me on this, and it remains my intention that it will be implemented in time for the introduction of the proposed scheme.

You ask about BPS, and, obviously, I've committed today to taking it to the end of 2023. All this is completely dependent on the UK Government giving us the funding and not shortchanging us by £137 million, like they've done this year. So, anything you can do to help in that way, I would be grateful for that. I don't want to see a cliff edge. For the past five years, I have continually said, 'We do not want to see a cliff edge', in the way that they saw it in New Zealand, for instance, when they stopped that direct payment. So, it's really important that that transition period—. And there might be criticism that it's taken us a little while to do it, but this is a very big transformational piece of work that we are doing, and it's absolutely right it takes a number of years to get it right.

Well, Plaid Cymru also welcomes this statement and the opportunity to discuss and scrutinise the proposals for the reform of farming in Wales, which will have the greatest long-term impact on the agricultural sector for a generation. Plaid Cymru, of course, welcomes the schemes that provide economic stability and also sustainability in terms of the environment for farmers. But without detailed proposals on how much farmers will be paid for sustainable farming plans, and without any detailed impact assessments, it's perhaps too soon to say what impact these plans will have. But, we will have to work together, as you've said, across the sector and with farmers to help them to achieve the aim of being net-zero carbon emitters.

So, similar to the question that Sam Kurtz has asked, the statement confirms that the Welsh Government intends to bring basic payments to an end in 2023 and start a new scheme in 2025. So, there is a bit of uncertainty about how farmers are going to sustain their livelihoods during 2024. And you referred to the fact that this depends, to a great extent, on funding received from the Westminster Government. So, I do want to ask again about certainty and what back-up plans you have to sustain farmers during that particular year before the new scheme starts.

To move on to another point, in your Government's response to the consultation summary, you stated that there was a transition period over a number of years to enable farmers to transfer from the basic payment scheme to a sustainable farming scheme. Now, of course, we need a fair transition period to ensure sustainability, and, in England, I understand that that is a period of around seven years. Will the Minister outline how long she foresees the transition period lasting in Wales? For how long will the basic payment continue, and over what period will the payment be decreased in order to move towards the more environmental schemes? And will she publish the analysis and division of this transition period before publishing the agriculture Bill next year?

As the statement notes, the commitment to full funding of the BPS through to December 2023 is subject to UK Government funding. Let's not forget that the UK Government have let us down before, having cut nearly £130 million in agricultural funding last year. So, in the context of that cut and that uncertainty, has the Minister held any preliminary discussions with Ministers or officials at Westminster to elicit this commitment that would provide greater stability for our farmers? And, more importantly, if the UK Government does not maintain its end of the bargain, as we've seen in past practice, what contingencies have the Welsh Government put in place to ensure that Welsh farmers don't lose out?

In terms of impact assessments as well—you mentioned these in the statement—we are obviously keen to see detailed impact assessments undertaken to consider the wider effects of these proposals on the sector. Now, when the White Paper was published last year, the Minister said that Welsh Government officials have let a contract to engage an independent consortium to examine the effects of the proposals on the agricultural economy of Wales, and I quote:

'I don't expect a final report on this to be received before the autumn of next year.'

We are in the early days of that autumn, so can you confirm, Minister, whether that independent analysis report is forthcoming, or has it been delayed?

And my final point is around woodland creation. Will the Minister confirm a definition of 'active farming', and that only active farmers should receive public money for woodland creation on Welsh land? And does the Government have any intention to reform and update the current 'active farmer' definition, which may be enabling large co-operations from outside of Wales to use public funds to greenwash their carbon offsetting activities? Diolch yn fawr.

Diolch, Cefin Campbell, and for your welcoming words as well to the statement. I said that we would be continuing BPS until the end of 2023. I didn't say that would be the end; what I was trying to give was some stability to our farming sector, because, previous to today, I had not announced that it would continue in 2023. So, you're talking about 2024—as I say, this is all down to budgeting. You can't go too far ahead. You ask about contingency plans, for instance. As you say, we were shortchanged £137 million this year. So, in relation to whether I have discussions, I meet George Eustice, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regularly and it is always on the agenda. You may have heard me say—I know your colleagues who were here in the previous term of Government will have heard me say many, many times—we ask for a Treasury Minister to come to our DEFRA IMG meeting and we've never been afforded that courtesy. It doesn't happen in other ministerial quadrilaterals, but unfortunately it happens in the DEFRA one, so you can make of that what you want. But I know, in fairness, that the DEFRA Secretary of State agrees with me in relation to securing funding, and I try to help him then lobby the Treasury. We will continue to do that. Obviously, my colleague the Minister for Finance and Local Government has discussions with the Treasury on many different topics, but this one is absolutely a priority for us.

We did say we would ring-fence the funding that we got for agriculture, but if you ring-fence nothing, then it's not very much, is it? So, Welsh Government does not have the funding that we are talking about—the £137 million—free to use in our budget. I would have to make a case for it, just like my colleagues make cases for funding around the Cabinet table. What is really important is that the UK Government keep to their word that we would not lose a penny if we left the European Union, and I think we should join together here in the Senedd to make sure that they absolutely deliver on that.

You asked about the detailed impact assessments, and the report, unfortunately, is a little delayed. I now expect to get it in the new year. You will appreciate that COVID has had a delay on the work that we've been able to do with our stakeholders. I'm very impressed that we've managed to work with 2,000 farmers and stakeholders over the past 18 months, because, clearly, we were unable to do as much as we wanted in the beginning. So, unfortunately, the report has been a little delayed, but I do expect to receive it in the new year of 2022.

You also asked about the environmental outcomes and public goods, and, clearly, in the sustainable farming scheme, this is what we're looking for in answer to both the climate and nature emergencies. I have to say the agricultural sector absolutely see themselves as part of the solution, and I'm always very impressed with the positivity they bring forward in relation to how they can help us achieve that. When you look at what they don't get money for now, what they're not rewarded for now, you will see it is that fantastic soil quality and water quality and carbon storage that the majority of farmers deliver. At the moment, they're not being rewarded for that, and, with the sustainable farming scheme, they will be.

In relation to the active farmer, I have been very keen to use that word 'active'; it's really important that it is our active farmers who are rewarded with public money, and I'm certainly looking at what that definition is. When you talk about woodland, I guess you're referring to the fact that, unfortunately, we have seen some farmland sold to multinationals, for instance, for carbon offsetting. We cannot tell people who to sell their farms to, and I had a very interesting conversation with the farmer around why that farmland had been sold. So, I think it is really important that we do support our active farmers, and this scheme certainly will look to do that.

I really do welcome this statement today. Sometimes, we have statements in this place that don't take us a lot further forward. This one today really does, and it does it in two ways: (1) in terms of giving, I think, some really good reassurance of the ongoing conversation that there will be with farmers and land managers on the future of this, but also the future of funding, subject to the UK Government—and we'd ask colleagues to help with this—coming forward and guaranteeing the funding that we need to do this transition. But it is also the journey to a very different future. If there is anything that we can grasp out of this opportunity now, it is the opportunity to have a different type of land management. Farmers are, indeed, the stewards of our natural environment for most of the landscape and topography of Wales. We can now make that explicit in the way that we actually recognise and reward it.

So, could I pick up just on a couple of things? I welcome, again, the reiteration that we will see this agriculture Bill coming forward. On the issue of reducing the regulatory burden on families, two suggestions going forward—you can take them or leave them. One is that, for those farmers who are good at what they do, not just in food production—sustainable food production—but actually good environmental stewards as well, we should reward them for that with earned recognition. We should be able to say there is a lighter touch for those who join in, let's say, landscape-wide, larger spatial collaborations on protecting the environment and the biodiversity and the ecosystems—ease off on them a little bit, recognising their track record. And on those that don't want to play ball, then go heavier. It will free up some of your resources in order to do that, and it recognises where there is a good track record with farmers.

Also, in terms of inspection and regulation and that lighter touch regulatory burden, let's have a look at something that is a one-stop shop on inspection and advice that would make it easier for farmers to know where to go to get good advice and to know that what they're doing is right and they won't be contradicted by somebody else.

On the transition funding, we've made the points already, and I totally reiterate Cefin's point on the active farmer definition; we are seeing now too many absentee landlords coming in and making the most out of carbon offsetting by taking up woodland and so on. But it was really good, Minister, to see you out recently with the NFU Cymru president John Davies launching NFU Cymru's 'Growing Together' report, and it shows clearly that farmers accept there is a real opportunity here on farms, as they have traditionally done, in copses, hedges and elsewhere, in the opposite of what we've seen over some of the common agriculture policy misdirection here, where hedgerows were taken out, copses were taken out and so on. There's a real opportunity to do this alongside sustainable, productive food production as well.

So, could I, finally, just reiterate my invitation? When the Minister was saying that this will allow us—this period now will allow us—to have detailed conversations with farmers on the proposals and test our thinking, genuinely, there will be no better place to come—and I say this quite seriously—than to some of my farmers in Ogmore, because they know the stuff they do, they do it very well, and there will indeed be a welcome in the hillside, with some good cake and tea.

Huw Irranca-Davies keeps floating this cake and tea past me every week. Yes, I'd certainly be very happy to come and visit. I did some fantastic farm visits over the summer and, as you say, everybody is really keen to show off the innovative work they're doing in relation to, particularly, reversing the biodiversity decline as well as mitigation against the climate and nature emergencies. 

It is an ongoing conversation. We can't do it on our own—the Government can't do it on its own; no-one can do it on their own. it's really important, as we look at these agricultural reforms, which are necessary. You have to look for opportunities from leaving the European Union, and maybe this is the one—to have that bespoke Welsh agricultural policy—because farmers themselves will tell you that the common agricultural policy has not really made them as competitive as they would want to be. So, it is an opportunity.

I'd be very pleased to take your suggestions on board. I'm happy to listen to anybody's suggestions. And I think that one-stop shop, we've already got it with Farming Connect, and that was one of the reasons I was very keen to put in some significant funding again today—£7 million—so that we can extend that. English farmers look on Farming Connect with envy, and I know our Welsh farmers and foresters absolutely appreciate the support that Farming Connect offers. So, I think we do have that, and farmers can go there if they do need advice around that. 

I was very pleased to launch the tree strategy at John's Pentre farm last Thursday and plant a very beautiful tree. And I understand every Member of the Senedd is going to be offered a tree to plant in their constituency, so—it's a bit of a plug—I do hope Members take up the opportunity to get their wellies out and their spades and go and plant a tree in their own constituency. 

Minister, I've read your statement with interest and I really do welcome the commitments that you've got in it to work with farmers, and especially, as has been mentioned around this Chamber, with active farmers. You and I used to meet before I ever came to this place, and that was something I always used to press with you, that support should go to active farmers. I'm also pleased at the £7 million that you've also committed in there to Farming Connect. As a past member of the rural leadership programme, I think it does an amazing job of upskilling farmers right across the country and sharing best practice across the sector, which is really, really welcome, and that commitment I'm glad to see. 

Also I hear in your statement about the Glastir Advanced scheme being brought forward, and I do think that's really, really positive. That has had some huge benefits for our farmers and our rural economy, and how that money has been re-jigged around to really support local businesses has been great. But, on that, can you confirm—you did say about the schemes being rolled forward—that the new Glastir schemes will be open to new people to come in—I think that's really important, that new people can come in to Glastir to help improve the environment—and also whether the capital works will form part of the new Glastir Advanced scheme? Because I think that did a really great job of doing the streamside corridors, planting hedges, and also improving historic structures et cetera, which really do help boost Wales. So, I'd like to hear whether that's going to be included.

And also, finally, on that, will there be any variations to current contracts? Because as you know, Minister, farmers are locked into their current contracts, and if they want to extend it they've got to stay with the status quo. I think it'd be really beneficial for our farmers if we could have some variations in the contracts to allow them to diversify a little bit, to help their farm and also the environment. So, thank you very much, Llywydd, and diolch.  

Thank you very much, and you will have heard me say my views around the word 'active'. I thought it was very important to have in the statement, and very important that it is our active farmers who are rewarded for their work.

I don't disagree with anything you were saying about Farming Connect. The reason I have put that funding forward is because I know how much it is appreciated that we have this place where people can go for support, and it's very rare I meet a farmer who hasn't had some contact with Farming Connect in their career.

In relation to Glastir, as I say, we are extending them. That is to provide certainty for contract holders. I will be looking to see if we are able to open any further windows, but, at the moment, the announcement I've made today is around extending Glastir contracts, because they need to be able to plan for withdrawal from that contract and, clearly, they were ending at the end of this year, so I thought it was very important to be able to provide that certainty.

May I also join with the other representatives in thanking you very much for the statement? And the Welsh Liberal Democrats welcome the detail that you've set out—particularly pleased to hear about the more proportionate regulatory framework for farmers and also that you're going to embark on a programme of engagement and consultation. Thank you. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

This must be, though, one of the most uncertain times for our farmers and those in Welsh agriculture. With the new and possibly threatening Brexit deals ahead for them, a new agricultural policy and COVID, farmers are facing significant pressures and uncertainty. This is also set against a backdrop of much longer-term uncertainty, about the impact of the climate, nature and biodiversity crises on society, and we must pay tribute to those farmers who are actually actively engaged in addressing those issues.

Much of what I was going to say has already been covered and I do look forward to the detail, which is about providing stability to deliver the environmental outcomes and invest in the new technology and productivity measures to deliver on our food security and environmental outcomes.

I just have two issues, if I may. Could you please confirm whether the Government intends to honour its commitment of domestic co-financing for the domestic RDP, valued at around £40 million a year, representing a very further significant loss of funding from rural areas such as the one that I represent? And Minister, you will also be aware that many farmers and their families can suffer from poor mental health. Could you please provide information on what wider support is being made available to farmers and those working in agriculture and more generally in rural communities in this regard? Thank you. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Thank you, and thank you for your words of support as well. It is really important that we continue to work very closely with our farmers. What I want to make sure is that what we are proposing is practical. So, it's important that all farm types are able to access the new scheme, so I think that is an important area of economic analysis for us too. In relation to your two specific questions, I cannot commit to keep the same funding, the domestic part of the rural development programme funding, until after the comprehensive spending review. I really don't know what my budget is going to be, so, at the moment, whilst I'm looking at what we can do to build on the rural development programme, I'm unable to offer that commitment until after the CSR.

I absolutely agree with you around mental health issues with our farmers, and I was talking last week in a forum where I was saying that, when I first came into the portfolio, it became very clear that many farmers felt isolated; the only time they saw another person was when they went to market, for instance. So, one of the things I've been doing, I've been working with quite a few charities within the agricultural sector, and particularly over the COVID-19 pandemic, because as you can imagine they were getting far more calls during the pandemic than previously, to make sure that support was there. So, I've put significant and particular funding into the DPJ Foundation, which I'm sure you're aware of, to help them go out to train other people, because I think it's really important that that best practice is spread throughout Wales. And so they have been able to train people—perhaps somebody who works in a farmer's market, where they can go to talk to individual farmers, if they are able to have that conversation with them, because, again, I think one of the things I picked up was that sometimes they don't like to ask for help, in a way that is—. We don't want to see that; we want people to ask for help and to be signposted to the best place. So, I met with my colleague, the Deputy Minister, Lynne Neagle, last week to discuss how we continue to fund it. She'd been on a very good visit the previous Friday to the DPJ Foundation to hear about the excellent work they're doing.

Thank you for your statement. I appreciate that some of the things that I wanted to raise have already been covered, but I just want to emphasise that this week has demonstrated just how much disruption the farming sector is suffering, both as a result of Brexit and the climate emergency. So, we've set ourselves some really tough targets for reducing our emissions by nearly two thirds by 2030, and that includes the very significant carbon emissions tied up in both food production and food consumption. So, I'm a bit concerned that we might be deferring change until after the basic payment scheme comes to an end in 2023, and I want to probe you on what we're doing now to assist farmers to come to terms with the new normal. Because I had a really interesting conversation with Glyn Roberts over the summer, who's doing fantastic work on changing the breed of beef herds that he has, both to ensure that he's reducing the carbon emissions he's consuming from the feedstuff he has to give them, but also by reducing the amount of emissions that they're making. Being the head of the Farmers Union of Wales he has access to very good advice, obviously, and I just wondered how active your officials are being in giving advice to all active farmers about how they can start to make changes now, on how they're reducing their carbon emissions, and understanding just how much disruption there is to the previous just-in-time global networks that we've all assumed were going to go on forever, and how we can strengthen our local food networks in order to improve food security.

Thank you. You raise a very important point. We've seen, haven't we, how interconnected our agri-food chain is over the past—? Well, we'd seen it before, but certainly I think it has been very significantly profiled over the last few weeks. So, we've been working with the agricultural sector for several years around the issues you refer to, and back about three years ago, maybe four years ago, we used some European funding that was open to every dairy farm to make sure that they could access support, as you referred to, and have a bespoke plan of how they could transform in the way that we're referring to. We then did it with red meat as well. We did it with two of the sectors, so this work is ongoing. I can assure you that my officials are engaging with farmers. So, I mentioned that we've spoken to 2,000 farmers over the last 18 months or so around the co-design of this scheme, so officials take the opportunity, of course, to discuss all aspects of farming with them. I mentioned Farming Connect, and that is an organisation that farmers can go to if they want support on how they can transform or how they can transition. We've also given schemes to make our farms more competitive and buy equipment that will help them in relation to the climate and nature emergencies. So, we're not waiting. As I say, it's a very complex, transformational piece of work that is going to take several years. I would love to do it in a year, but we have to get it right, and it's right that we have this transition period.

Finally, Joyce Watson.

Diolch, Llywydd. We all know what the goal is, and it's simple: it's to see Wales as a net-zero emissions country by 2050. That's what this is all about, and the policies are critical to achieving that because we know that farmers look after 80 per cent of our land. It's just that simple. 

So, paying them to help fight climate change and look after wildlife rather than how much land they have makes every bit of sense to us, particularly when we look at Wales, and we look at the fact that most of the farms in Wales are small farms. So, to me, that's a natural transition. But we need to look after also the unique social heritage that is locked into those small farms, and that, of course, is the Welsh-speaking nature of the people who live there, and also to ensure that we don't cause upheaval in such a way that many people have described here today. So, of course I welcome the fact, along with others, that you're maintaining the basic payment scheme until 2023. 

We've talked a lot about farming, and you just very briefly did mention greenhouse gas emissions, and their use more widely in terms of the reduction of agrichemicals and processing, and transport and refrigeration. So, under these plans—and, again, going back to the target, which is zero emissions—are those things being considered in this plan, and when will we see more with regard to those?

Thank you very much, Joyce Watson. I think you're quite right: it's not just about food production, is it? It is about that social fabric. When I went out to New Zealand to see how they'd fared after they'd had that cliff edge that we will absolutely not have, where they stopped their direct support for farmers back in, I think it was 1983, that was the one thing they told me about, that they lost so many small farms. You don't get small farms in New Zealand now, they're absolutely massive, and they lost that sense of community. And, of course, we have the Welsh language as well, and the agricultural sector use the Welsh language more than any other sector in Wales. So, it's very important when we're bringing this scheme forward that we take all of those things into consideration.

We are looking at how we can support them to get to those zero emissions, as you say, and I mentioned in a previous answer about the equipment that we had offered to help them with innovation and artificial intelligence. So, those are schemes that we've had. We've had several farm business grant schemes, et cetera, and they've been given support to decide what is the best equipment to use on their farms. This isn't necessarily part of this; this is something that we've been doing to try and help our farmers reduce their carbon emissions in the meantime.

Thank you, Trefnydd. The rural affairs Minister—that's what I should have said there. We will have a short break now as we prepare and make some changeovers in the Chamber. So, we'll take a short break and we'll restart before long. 

Plenary was suspended at 15:21.

The Senedd reconvened at 15:32, with Joyce Watson in the Chair.