English: Diolch, Llywydd. Thank you very much, Sam Kurtz, for choosing such a fantastic topic for your first short debate. I'd like to thank other Members for their contributions too. Through their activities, Wales's young farmers clubs provide unique opportunities for young people to develop their ambitions, their skills and their confidence, and these behaviours we know are absolutely invaluable as they look for employment, develop or take over an established farming business or seek to start new enterprises - or, indeed, become a Member of the Senedd, as we've heard from some of our new Members particularly today. I think Sam raised a really important point when he said that sometimes, outside of the agricultural sector or our rural communities, young farmers clubs are a bit of a best-kept secret. I can't say that I was ever a member of a YFC, but I do remember - I'm trying to work it out - probably about 46 years ago being dragged to a local disco being run by a young farmers club, and the friend who dragged me there did indeed find her husband at the disco that night. On Monday, my colleague Vaughan Gething, the economy Minister, started a conversation on the long-term demographic challenges facing the Welsh economy and the need to support our young people to make their future in Wales. So, I would like to reassure Sam, because he referred to that, that the role of Wales YFC is helping us achieve the same, and I think, going forward, will really be invaluable for us. Our programme for government commits us to delivering our young persons guarantee, which is an ambitious programme that will aim to provide young people under 25 in Wales with support to gain a place in education or training, or support to get into work or self-employment. Wales already has many of the components in place to provide the basis for a good young persons guarantee. Young people have access to a wide variety of programmes that include traineeships, ReAct, community employability programmes, business start-up support and personal learning accounts, and partners such as YFC Wales do play a key part in supporting our young people to access such opportunities through the guarantee. As a Government, we're also committed to developing an entrepreneurial culture, and through Big Ideas Wales, we want to inspire young people to be enterprising and help them on their journey to starting a business. Working with the YFC, Big Ideas Wales has provided inspirational role models for local meetings, providing business advice and support to their members looking to start a business. Similarly, the Welsh Government also continues to provide support for young entrants and those who want to enter the agricultural industry. Young people entering the industry ensure that a vibrant agricultural sector is maintained, ensuring employment opportunities so that young people can remain within their rural communities. It is essential, if we are to maintain viable and thriving communities, that young people have the confidence to achieve their ambitions within their rural communities. The importance of this for the Welsh language was referred to by Sam and I don't think it can be underestimated, with the future of the language and our target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050 entwined with thriving rural communities. Our Welsh language division provides Wales YFC with a core funding grant of nearly £125,000 to promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language within their programme of activities. This funding provides the Wales YFC office with over £63,000 to support their national initiatives and to fund a Welsh language development officer who is responsible for creating opportunities for young people to use the Welsh language, as well as supporting their members to become new Welsh speakers. The remaining £62,000 is distributed to all of the county federations, to be spent on specific activities to support the use of the language within each county. We are all aware how significant a role the YFC plays in the lives of our young people in rural Wales - not least in recent years the steps that it has taken to raise awareness and mitigate the effects of mental health issues among its members. As a member of the Wales farm safety partnership, I know that the organisation has worked hard to reduce fatalities and accidents on farms by ensuring that its members are aware of how to reduce risks and also how to change behaviours. When I received correspondence from the YFC last summer about the pandemic and the financial impact on the organisation, I asked my officials to meet with representatives of the organisation to explore possible avenues of support. I was pleased to hear that YFC was successful in its bid to the Welsh Government cultural resilience fund, having been awarded over £130,000 in 2020, with a further £87,000 awarded this year. The enthusiasm and dedication of young people in Welsh agriculture and our wider rural communities is inspirational. As we have heard, there is no better example of this than during the pandemic. Even though the necessary COVID restrictions meant that clubs couldn't meet face to face, they continued to connect with each other and meet online. They supported their local communities by assisting and supporting those who were isolated and by helping key workers. YFC members are a credit to their families, their clubs and wider rural communities. I am pleased that, as a Government, we continue to support the organisation, and I very much hope that Wales YFC, likewise, continues to support our young people who have a love for agriculture and rural life for many years to come. I look forward to many more entertaining and fun visits with YFC members over the coming months and years. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
Welsh: Diolch, Lywydd. Diolch yn fawr iawn, Sam Kurtz, am ddewis pwnc mor wych ar gyfer eich dadl fer gyntaf. Hoffwn ddiolch i'r Aelodau eraill am eu cyfraniadau hefyd. Drwy eu gweithgareddau, mae clybiau ffermwyr ifanc Cymru yn cynnig cyfleoedd unigryw i bobl ifanc ddatblygu eu huchelgeisiau, eu sgiliau a'u hyder, a gwyddom fod yr ymddygiadau hyn yn gwbl amhrisiadwy wrth iddynt chwilio am waith, datblygu neu gymryd meddiant ar fusnes ffermio sefydledig neu geisio dechrau mentrau newydd - neu ddod yn Aelod o'r Senedd yn wir, fel y clywsom heddiw gan rai o'n Haelodau newydd yn enwedig. Rwy'n credu bod Sam wedi gwneud pwynt pwysig iawn pan ddywedodd fod clybiau ffermwyr ifanc yn gyfrinach braidd, weithiau, y tu allan i'r sector amaethyddol neu ein cymunedau cefn gwlad. Ni allaf ddweud fy mod erioed wedi bod yn aelod o CFfI, ond rwy'n cofio - rwy'n ceisio meddwl - tua 46 mlynedd yn ôl, mae'n debyg, cael fy llusgo i ddisgo lleol wedi'i gynnal gan glwb ffermwyr ifanc, ac yn wir, fe wnaeth y ffrind a'm llusgodd i yno ddod o hyd i'w gŵr yn y disgo y noson honno. Ddydd Llun, dechreuodd fy nghyd-Aelod, Vaughan Gething, Gweinidog yr Economi, sgwrs am yr heriau demograffig hirdymor sy'n wynebu economi Cymru a'r angen i gefnogi ein pobl ifanc i wneud eu dyfodol yng Nghymru. Felly, hoffwn dawelu meddwl Sam, oherwydd cyfeiriodd at hynny, fod rôl CFfI Cymru yn ein helpu i gyflawni'r un peth, ac wrth symud ymlaen, credaf y bydd yn amhrisiadwy i ni. Mae ein rhaglen lywodraethu yn ein hymrwymo i wireddu ein gwarant i bobl ifanc, rhaglen uchelgeisiol a fydd yn anelu at roi cymorth i bobl ifanc o dan 25 oed yng Nghymru gael lle mewn addysg neu hyfforddiant, neu gymorth i gael gwaith neu ddod yn hunangyflogedig. Mae gan Gymru lawer o'r cydrannau eisoes ar waith i ddarparu'r sylfaen ar gyfer gwarant dda i bobl ifanc. Mae gan bobl ifanc amrywiaeth eang o raglenni at eu defnydd sy'n cynnwys hyfforddeiaethau, ReAct, rhaglenni cyflogadwyedd cymunedol, cymorth dechrau busnes a chyfrifon dysgu personol, ac mae partneriaid fel CFfI Cymru yn chwarae rhan allweddol yn cynorthwyo ein pobl ifanc i fanteisio ar gyfleoedd o'r fath drwy'r warant. Fel Llywodraeth, rydym hefyd wedi ymrwymo i ddatblygu diwylliant entrepreneuraidd, a thrwy Syniadau Mawr Cymru, rydym am ysbrydoli pobl ifanc i fod yn fentrus a'u helpu ar eu taith i ddechrau busnes. Gan weithio gyda'r CFfI, mae Syniadau Mawr Cymru wedi darparu modelau rôl ysbrydoledig ar gyfer cyfarfodydd lleol, i ddarparu cyngor a chymorth busnes i'w haelodau sydd am ddechrau busnes. Yn yr un modd, mae Llywodraeth Cymru hefyd yn parhau i roi cymorth i newydd-ddyfodiaid a'r rhai sydd am ymuno â'r diwydiant amaethyddol. Mae pobl ifanc sy'n ymuno â'r diwydiant yn sicrhau bod y sector amaethyddol yn parhau'n egnïol, gan sicrhau cyfleoedd cyflogaeth fel y gall pobl ifanc aros yn eu cymunedau cefn gwlad. Os ydym am gynnal cymunedau hyfyw a ffyniannus, mae'n hanfodol fod gan bobl ifanc hyder i gyflawni eu huchelgeisiau yn eu cymunedau cefn gwlad. Cyfeiriodd Sam at bwysigrwydd hyn i'r Gymraeg ac nid wyf yn credu y gellir ei orbwysleisio, gyda dyfodol yr iaith a'n targed o filiwn o siaradwyr Cymraeg erbyn 2050 ynghlwm wrth gymunedau gwledig ffyniannus. Mae adran y Gymraeg yn rhoi grant cyllid craidd o bron i £125,000 i CFfI Cymru i hyrwyddo a hwyluso'r defnydd o'r Gymraeg o fewn eu rhaglen weithgareddau. Mae'r cyllid hwn yn rhoi dros £63,000 i swyddfa CFfI Cymru i gefnogi eu cynlluniau cenedlaethol ac i gyflogi swyddog datblygu'r Gymraeg sy'n gyfrifol am greu cyfleoedd i bobl ifanc ddefnyddio'r Gymraeg, yn ogystal â chynorthwyo eu haelodau i ddod yn siaradwyr Cymraeg newydd. Caiff y £62,000 sy'n weddill ei ddosbarthu i bob un o'r ffederasiynau sirol, i'w wario ar weithgareddau penodol i gefnogi'r defnydd o'r iaith ym mhob sir. Rydym i gyd yn gwybod pa mor arwyddocaol yw rôl y CFfI ym mywydau ein pobl ifanc yng nghefn gwlad Cymru - yn enwedig y camau y mae wedi'u cymryd yn y blynyddoedd diwethaf i godi ymwybyddiaeth a lliniaru effeithiau problemau iechyd meddwl ymhlith eu haelodau. Fel aelod o bartneriaeth diogelwch fferm Cymru, gwn fod y sefydliad wedi gweithio'n galed i leihau nifer y marwolaethau a damweiniau ar ffermydd drwy sicrhau bod ei aelodau'n ymwybodol o sut i leihau risgiau a hefyd sut i newid ymddygiad. Pan gefais ohebiaeth gan y CFfI yr haf diwethaf am y pandemig a'r effaith ariannol ar y sefydliad, gofynnais i fy swyddogion gyfarfod â chynrychiolwyr y sefydliad i archwilio ffyrdd posibl o roi cymorth. Roeddwn yn falch o glywed bod CFfI wedi llwyddo yn eu cais i gronfa cydnerthedd diwylliannol Llywodraeth Cymru, ac wedi cael dros £130,000 yn 2020, gyda £87,000 arall wedi'i ddyfarnu eleni. Mae brwdfrydedd ac ymroddiad pobl ifanc i amaethyddiaeth Cymru a'n cymunedau gwledig ehangach yn ysbrydoledig. Fel y clywsom, nid oes enghraifft well o hyn nag yn ystod y pandemig. Er bod y cyfyngiadau COVID angenrheidiol yn golygu na allai clybiau gyfarfod wyneb yn wyneb, roeddent yn parhau i gysylltu â'i gilydd a chyfarfod ar-lein. Cefnogent eu cymunedau lleol drwy gynorthwyo a chefnogi pobl a oedd wedi'u hynysu a thrwy helpu gweithwyr allweddol. Mae aelodau CFfI yn glod i'w teuluoedd, eu clybiau a chymunedau gwledig ehangach. Rwy'n falch ein bod, fel Llywodraeth, yn parhau i gefnogi'r sefydliad, ac rwy'n gobeithio'n fawr y bydd CFfI Cymru, yn yr un modd, yn parhau i gefnogi ein pobl ifanc sydd â chariad at amaethyddiaeth a bywyd gwledig am flynyddoedd lawer i ddod. Edrychaf ymlaen at lawer mwy o ymweliadau difyr a hwyliog ag aelodau CFfI dros y misoedd a'r blynyddoedd nesaf. Diolch yn fawr iawn.