The union says, however, that more work needs to be done to ensure that the bill can establish a framework to underpin a thriving agriculture sector in Wales.
Written and oral evidence
NFU Cymru provided both written and oral evidence to the Senedd’s Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs (ETRA) Committee last autumn as parts of its evidence gathering ahead of the publication of the report last week.
The ETRA Committee’s Agriculture (Wales) Bill Committee Stage 1 Report, published on Friday 27 January, amounts to 114 pages and makes 30 recommendations covering all aspects of the bill.
Landmark moment
NFU Cymru has previously described the introduction of the Agriculture (Wales) Bill to the Senedd as a landmark moment for Welsh farming, providing the opportunity for the first time in history to implement a ‘made in Wales’ food and farming policy.
NFU Cymru President Aled Jones said: “The Agriculture (Wales) Bill seeks to introduce legislation that will give powers to Welsh Ministers to introduce schemes to support Welsh farming in the future. Whilst the detail of the schemes to be introduced, like the Sustainable Farming Scheme, will be subject to further consultation later this year, this bill is important because it determines the framework and parameters under which all future support for Welsh agriculture will be delivered.
Access for tenants
“I am pleased that the ETRA Committee has recognised the concerns of NFU Cymru over access to future support for tenants and commoners, farming families that farm the land they do not own. The future viability of these businesses will be dependent on access to support under the proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme.
“I also welcome the recommendation of the committee that the Minister should bring forward amendments to the bill to take account of the needs of new entrants. In our evidence to the committee, which has been referenced in the report, we have highlighted that helping new entrants and on-farm productivity should be specifically added to the list of actions which Welsh Ministers would have powers to support.
Recognition of the union's amendments
“The committee has recognised the arguments put forward by NFU Cymru for amendments to be made so that more explicit emphasis is given to the policy intent to support strong and vibrant communities.
“NFU Cymru maintains that a new fifth Sustainable Land Management (SLM) objective should be added to the bill to reflect the importance of sustainable and viable farming businesses and agricultural production to the rural economy. We hope that ongoing discussions between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru through the co-operation agreement will see this objective added as the bill makes its way through the Senedd legislative process.
“Whilst the report itself does reference the calls from NFU Cymru for the bill to include a mechanism for reporting on domestic production, we are disappointed that the committee has not more expressly included the need for the bill to be strengthened in relation to food production.”
🚨 New Report!
— Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee (@SeneddEconomy) January 27, 2023
Today, we have published the Stage 1 Report on the Agriculture (Wales) Bill
📃 Read the report: https://t.co/NZFDOCNy0p
Background: https://t.co/ldzTpA1h1F pic.twitter.com/9lhxqRqNX8
Social responsibility to contribute to global food security
Mr Jones added: “In the context of the current and future global challenges to food security, we believe Wales has a social responsibility to contribute to global food security and as such the Agriculture (Wales) Bill should, as a key objective, include mechanisms to ensure levels of domestic food production are assessed, maintained and enhanced. We will continue to lobby for this to be the case.
“The publication of the Agriculture (Wales) Bill Committee Stage 1 Report is an important moment in the movement of the bill through the Senedd. We now await the Minister’s response to the report. As a union, we will continue to engage with the committee and MSs of all parties in seeking to ensure that the bill will indeed establish the framework for a thriving agricultural sector.”