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Agricultural Policy

My hon. Friend makes a good point. I read only this morning that the average age of farmers—I think in Wales, but it may be in the UK—is 59. I know that some measures to encourage young people to go into farming or, in some cases, to stay in farming are already in the minds of Ministers. Again, I know of too many examples where enthusiastic sons and daughters of farmers, who always saw their future on the family farm, are wondering if it is a sustainable way forward. Other issues exacerbate the problem. I hope my comments will create a basis for discussion about how we can keep people in farming and encourage youngsters to stay in the industry, as well as come into it if it takes their fancy. I shall move to my penultimate point, which is about communications. Broadband has been mentioned a few times; indeed, I was delighted that mobile phone coverage was discussed because it often gets lost in debates. In a debate in the main Chamber about mobile phone coverage, I said rather flippantly that the problem even affects my ability to get babysitters to come to my house, because they are unable to text their friends from the depths of Llanmill. I considered that in itself that was a big enough argument to justify another visit to the issue of broadband and mobile coverage. There is, of course, much good news about broadband roll-out, which I am sure the Minister will alert us to when he sums up. We have to be pragmatic. There is always talk of 90%, 95% or 98% coverage, but it is almost inevitable that the 2%, 5% or the 10% who do not fall into that category will be within the agricultural industry—by its very nature and definition, we will fall into that smaller category. Although it is great to see rural communities benefiting from the broadband roll-out and therefore being able to keep up with competitors on a global basis, the potential downside of not having 100% coverage is the fact that the gap between those who have and those who have not gets wider. That, of course, puts farmers at a big disadvantage, because they are now required by law to undertake certain functions online. Hon. Members might say there is nothing wrong with that, but if the technology simply does not reach the 2% or the 5%—those who are desperately struggling to comply with those regulations—we are not doing a proper job in government. No discussion on agriculture, food production, farming or rural communities in Wales and in the context of UK Government policy would be complete without just a little reference to affordable housing. My hon. Friend the Member for Ceredigion mentioned young people in farming. It is not necessarily a question of young people owning or occupying their own farms but of wanting to work on farms, and one of the deterrents at the moment is whether they can afford to buy properties in areas where work is available. This is an ongoing issue for rural Britain as a whole. It is partially addressed by different planning regimes, but it needs to be addressed by the Welsh and UK Governments. I never seem to get to my feet in the House without mentioning planning, and planning in national parks is an additionally challenging scenario. Nevertheless, I shall say it again. If we want our rural communities and farming to flourish, we have to ensure that people who are born and bred in the areas and who want to contribute something through that industry can afford to do so through the housing system. We are not there yet, and it needs a co-operative approach between central and local government and the Welsh Government. Lastly, there is the thorny old topic of tuberculosis in cattle, which has not yet come up in the debate. I thought it was going to come up when the leader of Plaid Cymru tabled a question that I do not think was reached this morning. All the things I have mentioned—agricultural economics, the social and cultural contribution that farming makes to the community, tourism and tourism-related industries—are in some way related to the need for the two Governments who have an interest in the subject to crack the nut once and for all. It is not about being nice or nasty to badgers, but about dealing with a problem that has huge social, cultural and economic consequences if we do not deal with it. I argue that it is in the interests not only of farmers, cattle and taxpayers, but of the biodiversity of the countryside that where there are debilitating diseases we do what we have to do to eliminate them. Sometimes the decisions are unpopular or at least unedifying. There is no sense of joy at having to address the problem, but unless we do so all the things that glue together the agricultural and rural community, all the things that make it what it is in Wales—