A Viable Future For Farming

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:34 pm on 30 November 2022.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 2:34, 30 November 2022

Thank you, and as I said in my earlier answer, we are setting up a common land working group and what I want that working group to do is explore what specific support and advice may be needed, as well as what flexibility we may need to offer to account for the complexities that are posed by common land. 

As you'll be aware, within the sustainable farming scheme outline proposals, we have three tiers: we have the universal, the optional and the collaborative tiers. And, certainly, in my discussions that I've had with common land farmers, I think it's fair to say that the universal and the optional actions, as are currently described in the outline document, don't apply to common land in the same way that they do to other farms. So it could be that we'll need to have a focus on the collaborative level for our common land farmers. You know, common land is very unique, and therefore I think it needs a much more tailored approach.