Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:52 pm on 28 September 2022.
Thank you. I don't disagree with anything that you say. I think you're right; the figure I've heard from some farmers is 30 per cent, so I think you're quite right to say that, probably, 23.5 per cent is low. It is a very uncertain and worrying time for our farmers, and I absolutely recognise that. I have tried to provide some certainty for them with the continuation of the basic payment scheme, for instance. I haven't reduced it in the way that they have in England—year on year, actually, in England. I will be making a statement about BPS—normally, at the winter fair, I do a statement there.
Obviously, the whole sustainable farming scheme is just that: it's to make our agricultural sector as secure and as sustainable as possible. Obviously, you'll be aware that, over the last two days, I've started the process for the Agriculture (Wales) Bill here in the Senedd. Again, that's about keeping our farmers on the land, because, as you say, they cannot produce food at a loss and, of course, we rely on them to feed us. But, it is very hard to be able to provide the certainty that I know they need when I don't know what my budget is going to be next year. So, it is really difficult for me to be able to talk about the support they would get, in the way that they did when we were in the European Union, now we've left the European Union and we're not able to rely on that figure every year, even though the UK Government said we would be able to if we left the European Union.
But, everything that we're doing in relation to the sustainable farming scheme is to ensure that our farmers are kept on the land, and I'm glad you said that there's still an opportunity. Yesterday, I said that it'd be really helpful for every farmer, and for us as Members to encourage our constituents, to help us with that co-design of the scheme, going forward.