Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:19 pm on 9 November 2022.
I might need a little bit more than a bit more.
The sustainable farming scheme proposals contain a raft of actions designed to support farmers in the ongoing sustainable production of food alongside addressing the climate and nature emergencies. Sustainable farming is indeed the key to our future. We already have world-leading standards of sustainability within our red meat sector through our pasture-based methods of production, and in response to the shortfall in domestically produced protein for animal feed, the Growing for the Environment scheme will be a pilot to encourage the growing of crops and pastures that provide environmental benefits, such as protein crops. We do, of course, need to ensure that our farmers play their part in combating both the climate and the nature emergencies too, and in doing so, we need to encourage them to get the best out of their crops. So, that's partly in answer to that, Andrew—I was coming on to it. I haven't got time to go into it in enough depth—apologies.
Through our Wales and Africa programme, we have been able to demonstrate our commitment to being a globally responsible nation by supporting a number of tree-growing projects in sub-Saharan Africa. We know that by protecting and planting trees, be it in Wales or further afield, we can make a significant contribution to the fight against catastrophic climate change and deforestation. There are global concerns, which is why the Welsh Government provides support to Size of Wales and other Welsh organisations with campaigns and projects being delivered in Africa, working in partnership with a number of countries on their tree-growing initiatives. Foremost amongst these is the Mbale tree programme in eastern Uganda, where our partners have now distributed over 20 million trees, working towards a target of 50 million by 2030.
To conclude today, turning to trade as part of our responsibility to act as a globally responsible nation, we've been clear with the UK Government that no trade agreement should ever undermine our economic domestic policies. In Wales, we do not view trade deals in purely economic terms. Elements of trade deals that could advance protections around labour and the environment, including deforestation, are treated as one of our main priorities. Whilst we have the power to make representations to the UK Government during trade negotiations—and we do so frequently—the power to negotiate the trade deals themselves ultimately lies with the UK Government. We do not have the final say on deals, but we continue to push the UK Government hard to ensure that trade deals contain provisions that work in both the interests of Wales and in the interests of Wales as a globally responsible nation. Diolch.