Technology in Farming

Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 2:26 pm on 19 June 2024.

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Photo of Huw Irranca-Davies Huw Irranca-Davies Labour 2:26, 19 June 2024

Sam, it's such a good question, because we need to stop looking upon agricultural products such as slurry as a burden and a problem to manage, and actually look at the potential that we can use them and turn them into useful products. I've had so many discussions with farmers on their farms, but also with those who are involved in these sorts of initiatives, actually, to say, 'Well, how can we do it?', and sometimes without Government funding. Government funding is not the answer to everything; it's actually the innovation there. I have been pleased to hear about that potential, and I'd be keen to see how we can assist projects like that going forward, including with licensing and so on. So, I'm happy to have further discussions.

Just to say, in terms of agri-pollution and agri-tech, as you may know, we're continuing to provide support for innovative projects at the moment with Coleg Sir Gâr. We have the Tywi Farm Nutrient Partnership as well, the TFNP, which was a Smart Expertise funded collaboration between Coleg Sir Gâr and various industry partners, and it was looking at ways of not just reducing pollution and nutrient loss, but also recirculation of those nutrients on the farm—so, not having to take them off, not having to shift them. And also under Smart Expertise, the project was awarded a grant of £839,000, which was matched with equivalent private sector investment, and this is the way we need to look at it: how you can bring these forward together sometimes, with a bit of public funding, and a bit of the private investment as well. That has made progress towards the development of a fertiliser product with potential benefits for slurry storage. So, these projects have real potential to help farms manage their slurry in a way that is better for the farm business, reduces the environmental risks and creates opportunities—business opportunities.

We are considering, Sam, alternative measures to take forward, to see if we can take them forward as part of the four-year review of agricultural pollution regulations, including, by the way, those that relate to the use of innovative technology. So, we're actively considering how we take these forward.

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