00:00Affairs Committee, Paul Davies, and thank the committee staff and those witnesses who
00:03gave evidence to us, and I'm sure I can extend those tributes to Llyr Gruffydd, who's the
00:09chair of the Climate Change Committee.
00:11Although I don't sit on the committee, I did contribute, and Janet says you're a wonderful
00:14chair.
00:15But I am very pleased to contribute today on this debate.
00:20I won't be focusing on all three of the reports published.
00:22I'll be focusing on the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs report on the sustainable farming
00:28scheme.
00:29I don't have enough time to go into depth on the Farming Connect or the climate changes
00:33report, so I'm glad that there's many speakers here this evening.
00:36But my primary reason for welcoming this debate is that it's necessary.
00:40The recommendations of both committees must be heard and, crucially, acted upon.
00:44I want to see agriculture thrive, Welsh agriculture thrive, as the highest quality, environmentally
00:51sustainable food-producing industry that it already is, and know that it can continue
00:56to be.
00:57It is evident from the ETRA report that there are serious issues with the sustainable farming
01:02scheme, many of which my colleagues have already highlighted.
01:04I would like to focus on certain aspects that, in my view, demonstrate a lack of forethought
01:10in the scheme, particularly the wording around social value.
01:16Recommendation 4 of the report makes this abundantly clear, urging the Welsh Government
01:19to work swiftly through the roundtable to define the social value element of the scheme.
01:26I find it quite hard to believe that this even needs to be stated.
01:29Surely, it shouldn't be the requirement of a committee recommendation to compel the Government
01:35to clarify a key term of its own, which will form part of crucial agricultural support
01:41going forward.
01:42However, clarification of the terminology is only one aspect.
01:45The lack of adequate financial support for farmers is another.
01:50Looking at recommendation 2 of the ETRA report, there has been a failure to include tenant
01:54farmers and those working on common land in the SFS.
01:57The previous Agricultural Minister, Rural Affairs Minister, repeatedly said, ëIf it
02:01doesnít work for tenants, it doesnít work.í Well, by that definition, the scheme does
02:07not work.
02:09This leads me to a broader point, encapsulated in conclusion 2 of the ETRA report, which
02:14addresses both of the issues Iíve already touched uponócommunication with farmers and
02:18the payments they will receive.
02:21There has been an alarming lack of information provided to farmers about payment methodology
02:25and the rates they can expect.
02:28While the preparity phase allows some time for details to be worked out, it is vital
02:32that this work is completed without delay, with the Welsh Government giving full consideration
02:37to stakeholdersí views, noting as well that not all farmers are members of farming unions.
02:43How can the message and that information get to them, and vice versa?
02:48The debate on the SFS has revealed one undeniable truthófarmers are desperate for that clarity
02:54on the rules, on the funding, on the futureóyet their calls have always been somewhat ignored,
03:01with farmers left sitting and asking themselves why.
03:05Why have we spent so much time getting to this point, only to be still without a workable
03:09system to secure the future of farming in Wales?
03:13The first consultation, ëBrexit on our landí, launched in 2018, yet, six years and five
03:19consultations later, weíre still waiting for a workable scheme that farmers want to
03:23subscribe to.
03:25Why has the Welsh Government allowed this to drag on for so long?
03:29Why was the co-design process nothing more than a token gesture?
03:33If co-design actually meant something, we wouldnít find ourselves in the situation
03:37today debating these three committee reports.
03:41Why have farmers, unions, industry experts and entire rural communities had their concerns
03:48about the deeply flawed sustainable farming scheme fall on deaf ears?
03:53Why did it take a series of protests across Wales, including one of the largest on the
03:58very steps of this Senedd, for the Welsh Government to finally pay attention?
04:03And whyóand this is what really frustrates me, Llywyddóis it that, time and time again,
04:09agriculture and our farmers are treated as something that can be traded off, paid lip
04:13service to, their concerns quashed, instead of being properly supported as the backbone
04:19of our rural communities that they truly are?
04:22In closing, Llywydd, I urge this Government to listen, to hear the voices of our farmers,
04:28our rural communities and these two Senedd committees.
04:31Theyíre not asking for the impossible.
04:34Theyíre asking for clarity, for fairness and for respect.
04:38Welsh farming is at the heart of our nation, the foundation of our rural communities, and
04:43it, I believe, deserves better.
04:46The time for delay is long past.
04:49This Government must act now before itís too late to protect the future of Welsh agriculture.
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