Welsh food strategy group sets sights on farms, schools and supply chains

School food, Welsh horticulture and the security of the meat supply chain will be among the first priorities for a new expert group helping to shape Wales’s National Food Strategy.

The Welsh Government has named specialists from farming, food, health and environmental organisations to the Expert Working Group, which will advise on the development of the strategy.

Its Terms of Reference have also been published, setting out how the group will operate and the areas it will examine.

The strategy will focus on four main areas: health and wellbeing, food security, the economy and rural development, and the environment.

It is intended to take a broad approach to food policy, covering areas including production, retail, health, education, public procurement and the circular economy.

The group will be chaired by Simon Wright, owner of Wright’s Food Emporium in Llanarthne, who was appointed in July after the strategy was announced at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show.

Wright has since worked with figures from across the sector to help develop the group’s Terms of Reference.

The Welsh Government said members had been chosen to represent different parts of the food system, including agriculture, horticulture, retail, hospitality, red meat processing, public health, food poverty, environmental policy and food safety.

Members include Ian Rickman of the Farmers’ Union of Wales, Sarah Gould of Lantra, Tim Lang of City University London and Deiniol ap Dafydd of Blas ar Fwyd.

Catherine Smith, chair of Hybu Cig Cymru, Sue Pritchard, chief executive of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, and Sam Kemp of Torfaen Food Partnership have also joined the group.

Other members include Shea Buckland-Jones, head of policy and advocacy at WWF Cymru, and Dr Rhian Hayward, Wales Board member at the Food Standards Agency.

A representative from NFU Cymru will also take part.

The group will meet regularly to identify issues facing the Welsh food system and recommend measures that could be introduced before the final strategy is completed.

It will also look at how communities and members of the public can contribute to the strategy’s development.

Final decisions on whether recommendations are adopted will remain with Welsh Ministers.

Three groups will begin work on food in schools, expanding edible horticulture in Wales and strengthening the Welsh meat supply chain.

They will be able to draw on additional outside expertise as they look for measures that could be introduced in the shorter term while the wider strategy is developed.

Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability Llyr Gruffydd thanked those who had agreed to join the Expert Working Group.

“I want to thank all those who have agreed to serve on this Expert Working Group. Their breadth of experience, from our farms and fisheries to our schools and communities, reflects the scale of ambition we need to transform our food system for the better.”

Wright said the group would work with people across Wales as the strategy takes shape.

“We will be working with stakeholders and communities across Wales in a national mission to achieve a more prosperous, healthier, environmentally friendly and secure future for Welsh food.”