Responding to the Labour Government in Cardiff Bay’s publication of its Agriculture Bill, the Welsh Conservative and Shadow Rural Affairs Minister Samuel Kurtz MS said:
“This is the first opportunity to have a “Welsh born; Welsh bred” agricultural bill. A chance for policy to better reflect the unique agricultural sector here in Wales, so it is important, therefore, that it delivers for the sector and wider countryside.
“The objectives found within the Agricultural Bill are a step in the right direction. I have already said that this Bill should protect high standards, promote our products and services in domestic and foreign markets, and provide the industry with support, making food security and sustainability the cornerstone
of any new agricultural regime. This needs to be achieved concurrently with environmental improvements.
“A strong Agriculture Bill will also enhance our rural communities, strengthening our culture and language.
“As we scrutinise and amend the legislation over the coming months, my priority is to secure the best possible deal for Welsh farmers and our countryside.”
In July, Mr Kurtz launched his alternative vision for the agricultural sector in Wales with his alternative bill. It comes in three strands:
- Protect: continue to ensure high animal welfare and production standards which have made Welsh agricultural products some of the best in the world and looking after our farmers and their mental health whilst ensuring our domestic industry safeguards us against global flux.
- Promote: work across industries to develop markets for Welsh produce both home and abroad and add value to raw products. The role agriculture can, and does, play in protecting our environment.
- Provide: support the industry to increase both our food security and sustainability to help weather the storm of high fuel, feed and fertiliser costs whilst developing opportunities for new entrants to start in the industry.
Following conversations with the main industry bodies, a Welsh Conservative Alternative Agriculture Bill would:
- Focus on food security, enabling Wales to produce more of its own to reduce reliance on imports from outside of the UK in these challenging and turbulent global times;
- Be sustainable and understands the relationship between the land and those who work it;
- Be as simple to administer and deliver as possible, and focussed on those who actively work their land;
- Encourage investment into farmers and agricultural industry, whilst supporting new entrants and supporting the next generation of Welsh farmers; and
- Ensure that Welsh farmers are able to compete on an equal and level playing field with their counterpart elsewhere in the UK and EU.
