Working as partners for future of farming
THE political landscape in Westminster seems to be changing by the second, so I wanted to use my Western Mail column this month to talk about matters closer to home here in Wales.
Last week saw the culmination of the Welsh Labour leadership election race, with Mark Drakeford AM being announced as the winner.
With fellow leadership hopefuls Vaughan Gething AM and Eluned Morgan AM on the ballot paper, this was always going to be a credible race and it was great to see such strong competition for the role at such a critical time for the future of Wales.
I’d like to congratulate Mr Drakeford on his successful campaign to become the leader of Welsh Labour in the National Assembly.
We look forward to meeting with Mr Drakeford at the earliest opportunity to discuss our ambitions for the further sustainable growth of the food and farming sector in Wales.
I have written to Mr Drakeford personally seeking an early meeting, where I hope he is able to reaffirm the commitments that have previously been made by the Welsh Government to the sector, not least the ring-fencing of funds for agriculture drawn down from Westminster.
Of course Mr Drakeford’s appointment comes at an important time, as the Welsh Government looks to implement a post-Brexit Welsh agricultural policy that will shape the future of agriculture in Wales for generations to come.
We look forward to working with the incoming First Minister and his Cabinet to ensure that new policy enables us to capitalise on the opportunities that the future presents and provides the chance to further develop a productive, profitable and progressive agricultural sector that can deliver jobs, growth and investment for every constituent in Wales.
It would also be remiss of me not to take the opportunity to congratulate Carwyn Jones on his career in Welsh politics, a career in government that began in agriculture and saw him rise to become elected First Minister for Wales in 2009.
Carwyn is someone with whom I have enjoyed a good working relationship over many years.
In fact, a matter of days after being appointed to his first Cabinet role as Agriculture and Rural Development Secretary in 2000, he visited my farm at Pentre to learn about the farming industry.
I was delighted when some 18 years later Carwyn revisited my farm, some two days after I was elected NFU Cymru president, to partake in a joint interview for Sky News.
I don’t need to remind Western Mail readers that Carwyn’s period as Agriculture Minister coincided with the time when our industry was brought to its knees with the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak.
However, Carwyn led the Welsh response to the outbreak admirably in extremely challenging circumstances.
It’s fair to say that during that difficult time Carwyn established lasting connections with our industry, and I feel that this is something he has carried through with him during his time as First Minister for Wales.
During his time at the helm of the Welsh Government he has overseen the reform of the CAP, as well as promising growth in the Welsh food and drink sector, which is worth nearly £7bn today.
We have not always agreed and I would say that the rise of bovine TB in Wales and the loss of Tir Mynydd, our hill and upland support scheme, are two areas where the industry and Carwyn have not seen eye to eye.
Throughout his time as First Minister, Carwyn has always been approachable to NFU Cymru and listened to the representations we have made on behalf of farmers from the length and breadth of Wales.
Most recently, we were delighted that Carwyn accepted our invitation to speak as part of an NFU Cymru panel debate on Brexit during the Royal Welsh Show earlier this year.
It’s fair to say that the NFU Cymru/ NFU Mutual marquee was absolutely packed on that first day of the annual showpiece in Llanelwedd to hear him speak, and all those in attendance could be under no illusion as to the strength of feeling expressed by the First Minister regarding his views on Welsh farming and its vulnerability to a bad Brexit deal.
We have enjoyed a positive relationship with Carwyn Jones over the years and I sincerely hope for a similarly positive engagement with Mark Drakeford when, as expected, he succeeds Carwyn as leader of Welsh Labour and subsequently as the new First Minister of Wales.