Statement on the Welsh Assembly Government’s Response to the Report on Agri-Environment Schemes

The Minister for Environment, Planning and Countryside (Carwyn Jones): I welcome the former Agriculture and Rural Development Committee’s report on the future of agri-environment schemes in Wales, and strongly support the Committee’s view that developing a wide range of agri-environment schemes will help to ensure a bright future for agriculture, in economic and environmental terms. I am committed to the principles of sustainable development and strongly believe that further development of the agri-environment schemes will make a positive contribution to sustaining the future of the agriculture industry in Wales and the countryside environment. The Welsh Assembly Government’s strategic position on future support for agriculture is set out in the 2001 publication, ‘Farming for the Future’. We want to create the right framework to reconnect farmers to the reality of market demand and strengthen support for rural development measures such as Tir Gofal. Common agricultural policy reform will help in this regard. As my written statement says, the common agricultural policy reform framework gives us a starting point from which we can shape our support for the needs of Welsh agriculture. Results from the current consultation will help us to make informed decisions on future support, and will give farmers in Wales the opportunity to reduce their costs, improve the quality of production and meet the needs of the markets that they serve.

Tir Gofal, the Welsh Assembly Government’s flagship agri-environment scheme, is widely regarded as the best scheme of its type in Europe. The scheme takes forward the best practices identified in the current agri-environment schemes and protects important landscape features, improves wildlife habitats and provides opportunities for public access. Clearly, continuing and expanding the scheme is fundamental to developing a sustainable agriculture industry. The Committee’s concerns about operational issues relating to Tir Gofal, including access evaluation, administration and coverage, have all been addressed by implementing the recommendations of the 2001 stocktake. My written statement has clarified what has been done on each of these. On the funding issue, the Welsh Assembly Government has made £14.4 million available in 2004-05. I have made it clear that the revised allocation, together with modulation receipts, will mean that we have sufficient funds to maintain existing agreements and allow continued expansion at the target rate of 60,000 additional hectares in 2004-05. For 2005-06 and future years, this budget, like all other Assembly budgets, will be considered in the resource allocation review being undertaken by officials. The Welsh Assembly Government will, of course, continue to give high priority to supporting agri-environment schemes.

I should like to take this opportunity to emphasise the positive work that the Assembly Government has done to take forward the Committee’s recommendation on introducing an integrated suite of agri-environment schemes. Importantly, the proposed entry-level scheme published in August will encourage many more farmers in Wales to bring their land into a basic level of environmental conservation. It will reward farmers for taking the first steps towards positive environmental action such as habitat protection and will therefore attune them to the more demanding requirements of Tir Gofal. The pilot scheme I have mentioned in my written statement will be important to help us tailor the scheme details before it starts in 2005-06. The target is to bring 60 per cent of agricultural land not already participating in an existing scheme into the new scheme. I am pleased to say that the Welsh Assembly Government supports all the key principles detailed in the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee report. Much work has already been done, as I have detailed in my written statement.

Finally, I thank the Committee for its comprehensive report. With 25 per cent of all farms in Wales now participating in an agri-environment scheme, farming in Wales is moving in a new direction whereby the richness of the Welsh countryside, its habitats and its wildlife will be enhanced and made more sustainable. I look forward to working with the industry to meet the challenges of the future and particularly to ensuring that we design and implement the new entry-level scheme to the advantage of farmers and the environment alike.