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.