8. Plaid Cymru Debate: Global impact of domestic consumption

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:07 pm on 9 November 2022.

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Photo of Jane Dodds Jane Dodds Liberal Democrat 6:07, 9 November 2022

I just want to focus very briefly on one aspect. There's just so much in this, isn't there, and it's so important that we look at this issue. But I just wanted to look at food and farming. The debate that we're having is so important in the light of the development of the agricultural Bill for Wales, at the heart of which we want to see sustainable food production. We're pleased to see that food production is now included as part of the Bill, but still there's some lack of clarity about whether farmers will receive the basic payment for sustainable food production, and it would be great to hear from the Minister and the Government about any intentions around that. We do know that the Welsh Government is serious about reaching their net-zero ambitions, and we should be talking much more about reducing food imports, which we've heard this afternoon, particularly those that carry the highest carbon content. Therefore, we must grow as much as possible of our own food sustainably here in Wales. We need to be invigorating local food networks, and farmers need to be supported to produce food sustainably for local food markets. When I speak to farmers in mid and west Wales, that's their ambition too. They see their role as farmers both as custodians of the land, aware and concerned about the environment, and as food producers. So, I know we all want to work with farmers to realise that ambition of more food produced and consumed here in Wales. As Delyth said, since 2016, the Welsh food and agricultural industry have suffered the impacts of three major challenges: Brexit, COVID-19 and now the cost-of-living crisis. We want to see a bold and radical plan for the Welsh food and agricultural industries from the Welsh Government to make sure that the sector survives and thrives. 

It's very important as well about food security, which will be a major challenge, particularly with the Ukraine war. We need to make sure that we shield people—residents and our workers—from that food insecurity, and we need to be reducing our food waste. The Nature Friendly Farming Network estimates that, globally, 30 per cent of total food produced is wasted, and that, in the United Kingdom, food waste amounts to a staggering 9.5 million tonnes, 70 per cent of which is edible and intended for consumption. I've seen in my region communities working together to reduce that food waste through, for example, community fridges. The Hanging Gardens in Llanidloes is one example of those. I'd be interested to hear from the Welsh Government more about what they can do to support the reduction in food waste.

The Farmers Union of Wales for some time have been calling for local food sourcing, and the more the public sector can do to nudge behaviour in the right direction, the better. I hope we are ensuring, for example, that the free-school-meals programme uses as much locally produced and sourced food as possible. Whilst I recognise that it's ultimately local authorities that make their own decisions regarding procurement, I'd be interested to hear from the Welsh Government how to make that potentially a condition of the scheme, so that we properly fund that to use Welsh produce wherever possible.