Mr Jones will be speaking at NFU Cymru’s Celebration of Welsh Food & Farming event in Cardiff Bay on Tuesday 7th June, where the union will launch its Shaping Welsh Farming’s Future: NFU Cymru’s Policy Priorities for Welsh Government’s Agriculture (Wales) Bill document. The launch is one of a number of events NFU Cymru has co-ordinated as part of the first ever Celebration of Welsh Food & Farming Week.
Shaping Welsh Farming's Future
The Shaping Welsh Farming’s Future report provides a summary of NFU Cymru’s key asks of the Agriculture (Wales) Bill in order that Welsh farming is able to thrive and continue to deliver high quality, affordable food and wider economic, environmental, social and cultural benefits for all the people of Wales, whilst meeting the sector’s ambition for net zero agriculture by 2040.
Addressing MSs at the NFU Cymru reception, which will be kindly sponsored by Lesley Griffiths MS, Mr Jones will say: “2022 is a seminal year for Welsh food and farming with our Minister introducing the Welsh Government’s Agriculture (Wales) Bill to the Senedd, a bill that will define Welsh farming for a generation to come. The bill presents us with a once in a lifetime opportunity to design, build and implement a comprehensive ‘farm to fork’ food and farming policy, conceived, born and bred in Wales.
“Today I am delighted to launch a new NFU Cymru policy document that provides a summary of our key asks of the Agriculture (Wales) Bill. I very much hope that the Minister and her team will consider these as they continue to work on the detail of the bill.”
Our key asks
Through the bill, NFU Cymru believes the Welsh policy framework should:
- Secure the production of high-quality affordable food for all in society by enhancing our ability to produce food for the nation.
- Improve on-farm productivity promoting the further sustainable growth of the Welsh food and drink sector – Wales’ biggest employer
- Underpin the financial resilience of our family farms and in so doing, sustaining our rural communities, language, culture and heritage.
- Maintain and enhance nature and our environment while also supporting the delivery of our vision to reach net zero agriculture by 2040.
Mr Jones will say: “Access to safe, high quality, affordable food is the most basic fundamental right for all people in society and a key objective of the bill must be to underpin the production of a stable supply of safe, high quality, affordable food. The bill must also include mechanisms to ensure levels of domestic food production are assessed, maintained and enhanced alongside climate, biodiversity and broader environmental objectives.
Providing stability
“As we transition to a new scheme, we look to a framework that continues to provide stability and that targets support at the active farmer; the farming family taking the risk associated with food production and environmental management. This framework should deliver a comprehensive suite of outcomes that includes food security, incentivises on farm productivity and safeguards our rural communities and the Welsh language alongside a range of environmental outcomes.
“From a food and farming perspective, this bill is the most important piece of legislation to go through the Senedd in its 23 years of existence. Each one of our MSs has a vital role to play in scrutinising, seeking to ensure that the bill can deliver for Wales.
Sustainable growth
“We have an ambition to sustainably grow our industry in Wales, increasing the contribution that Welsh food and farming makes to the economy of Wales, whilst meeting our aspiration to reach 2040 net zero against a backdrop where our nature thrives. Wales can be a world leader in the production of climate and nature friendly food.
“Welsh agriculture makes an unparalleled contribution to our rural communities, economy, landscape, as well as to our national identity, our language our and culture. More than ever, in these difficult times, the continued supply of safe, high-quality, affordable food has to be a strategic priority for the nation.”
