Creating a Vibrant Agricultural Industry

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:53 pm on 18 January 2023.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 2:53, 18 January 2023

Thank you. I visited the Agriculture Research Centre at Gelli Aur twice myself to hear about the amazing work that's under way, and it was good to see so much progress had been made between my two visits. I very much welcome the research that's been undertaken there. I can see great promise to enable our farms to utilise the nutrients from manures much more efficiently. Slurry separation and the management of the separated nutrients really do provide an opportunity, I think, particularly in light of high fertiliser prices, which we've certainly seen over the last year or so, and that really ensures that valuable nutrients are able to be added to nutrient-deficient areas so that they can increase their resilience and reduce the reliance on manufactured fertilisers. The work being done on the nutrient management plans with the precision spreading of the separated materials I think will also help ensure the right nutrient application at the right time, and, of course, that's essential if we want to reduce the risk of pollution.