Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs,
Huw Irranca Davies: We have had a seven-year
conversation to design a future farming support scheme that works
for Wales. I am committed to keep listening to and, working with,
farmers and all stakeholders to develop a Scheme that will help
deliver against our ambition for Wales to be a world leader in
sustainable farming.
Everyone I have met since taking on the role of Cabinet Secretary
for Climate Change and Rural Affairs agrees that producing safe,
high-quality food in Wales is vital to our future. Farming
provides much more than the food we eat. A prosperous industry is
vital to support our farmers to produce food sustainably and
provide a wealth of environmental, economic, and social
benefits.
Our future farm support needs to deliver multiple outcomes for
all of Wales but must have farmers at the heart of it. This has
food production and continued high standards of animal health and
welfare as the cornerstone, along with improving environmental
performance, responding to the climate emergency, and enhancing
on-farm biodiversity. These cannot be tackled in
isolation.
I have listened to the issues raised by the farmers, farming
unions and other stakeholders I've met with so far, and whilst
the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) consultation responses
continue to be analysed, I want to move forward to ensure we
address our commitments. I have met with Plaid Cymru's Designated
Member and will maintain regular dialogue in support of the
Cooperation Agreement.
I will be updating Senedd Members on 14 May on the latest
developments regarding SFS and how I propose to make progress. My
commitment is to do this in partnership, to explore the issues
that I have heard about and to address them so that we can move
forward with a scheme that supports our common ambition for Welsh
farmers to be world leaders in sustainable farming. Economies
across the world are having to confront tough decisions to ensure
that the action needed to protect the future of our planet is
taken in a way that delivers a just transition for communities
everywhere. Rural Wales boasts some of the World's best produce
with farmers who care for and sustain landscapes and communities
that inspire and nurture people here and visitors from across the
globe. This is why changes to the support we provide to secure
the future of farming in Wales are the subject of such passion.
The emphasis I place on dialogue and listening is based on a
recognition of the impact the decisions we take collectively have
on Wales as a whole and on the welfare of future generations.
This is why today I am announcing the creation of a SFS
Ministerial Roundtable which will be made up of farmers,
representative organisations such as the Farming Unions, and
other stakeholders with an interest in achieving a sustainable
agricultural industry in Wales.
The Roundtable, which I will chair, will review the key programme
outputs and critical steps leading to the development of a
revised Scheme, in advance of a final decision by Welsh
Ministers. This will consider evidence such as the consultation
analysis, updated economic assessment, and outputs from a
supporting SFS officials' group and other task and finish groups.
The intention is to work at pace to identify areas of agreement
and place the emphasis on matters where more work is required. I
expect to have the first meeting of the Roundtable in May and my
priority is to listen to the issues raised and to find a way
forward which hopefully works for all.
With this in mind, one of the first tasks of the SFS Ministerial
Roundtable will be to look at any further and alternative
proposals to achieve additional carbon sequestration within the
SFS. The Farming Unions and other stakeholders believe the Scheme
should look beyond the existing Actions, such as additional tree
planting, which this group will now consider.
I expect the group of partners undertaking this work with us to
focus on the evidence associated with actions to support
additional carbon sequestration and the scale of opportunity in
Wales. This exercise will be considered by the SFS Ministerial
Roundtable and ultimately support the decisions I will be making
on the Scheme's introduction. I will look to publish a summary of
the evidence provided by the evidence sub-group as part of my
commitment to an open and inclusive approach on this important
and deeply emotive issue.
The announcement today is critical in demonstrating the steps we
will take to work in partnership to finalise a Scheme that works
long-term. Together we can create a future where our farmers
produce the very best of Welsh food to the highest standards,
while safeguarding our precious environment, underpinning our
rural communities and addressing the urgency of the climate and
nature emergency.
