Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023

8 Welsh Ministers’ power to provide support

(1) The Welsh Ministers may provide support for or in connection with agriculture in Wales and ancillary activities that take place in Wales.

(2) That support may, in particular, include support for or in connection with any of the following purposes—

(a) encouraging the production of food in an environmentally sustainable manner;

(b) helping rural communities to thrive and strengthening links between agricultural businesses and their communities;

(c) improving the resilience of agricultural businesses;

(d) sustaining the Welsh language and promoting and facilitating its use;

(e) reducing emissions of greenhouse gases;

(f) maximising carbon sequestration and storage;

(g) maintaining and enhancing the resilience of ecosystems;

(h) conserving and enhancing landscapes and the historic environment;

(i) improving air quality;

(j) improving water quality;

(k) maintaining and enhancing public access to and engagement with the countryside and the historic environment;

(l) mitigating flood and drought risks;

(m) achieving and promoting high standards of animal health and welfare;

(n) maximising resource efficiency;

(o) encouraging agricultural businesses to manage energy effectively (including by adopting energy efficiency and energy saving practices, and generating renewable energy on their land).

(3) Support under this section may be provided under a scheme or otherwise.

(4) The Welsh Ministers may, by regulations, amend subsection (2) by—

(a) adding a purpose to the list in that subsection;

(b) removing a purpose from the list;

(c) altering the description of a purpose in the list.

(5) In this section, “greenhouse gas” has the same meaning as in Part 2 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw 3).

(6) In this Chapter—

(a) references to support (except in the case of references to the provision of support under a third party scheme within section 9(8)) are to support under this section;

(b) references to financial support are to support under this section that is provided financially.