3. What is the Welsh Government doing to attract young people into careers in farming and agriculture? OQ59144

The Welsh Government continues to support and encourage young people to enter the agriculture industry through programmes such as Farming Connect and Venture. The proposed sustainable farming scheme will be available to all types of farms in all parts of Wales and will support new entrants to establish sustainable agricultural businesses.

Thank you, Minister. As you know, farming is the foundation upon which the £6 billion Welsh food and drink supply chain is built. They're the guardians of our environment and the sector employs 17 per cent of the Welsh workforce. Recent statistics from Qualifications Wales have shown that there has been a 14 per cent decrease in the vocational qualification certificates awarded in the agriculture, horticulture and animal care sectors compared to 2021. Furthermore, Wales has the largest percentage decrease in the total agricultural workforce from 2015 to 2021 at 13.6 per cent, compared to 2.4 per cent in England and 3.1 per cent in Scotland. How are you working, Minister, with the rest of your Government to reverse this worrying trend and ensure that we support Welsh farming for generations to come?

I've always taken a specific interest in new entrants, working with people to see what the barriers are to them going into agriculture. I have to say, education and skills hasn't been one of the barriers that's ever, I don't think, been raised with me. I've been focusing on—. I mentioned Venture in my original answer to you, which has been very successful in helping to match farmers and landowners who are looking to step back from the industry with new entrants going into farming. We also try and work with our local authorities to ensure that their farms are protected as farms so that they can be used by people, particularly when they first want to get into agriculture. Perhaps they can't afford to buy a farm, but they can lease a farm from the local authority.