English: Thank you to the committee, the Chair and all of the staff, as Sam Kurtz said, for their very thorough work on this inquiry. We must begin by acknowledging that we see far too many cases of water pollution in our waterways, and everyone must take responsibility and play their part - the farmers, yes, but also the water companies, construction companies, and everyone else. But, we must also recognise the role of the agricultural industry in our rural communities, in terms of its valuable contribution to our local economy, its invaluable contribution to culture and community, not to mention its central role, namely producing high-quality, nutritious food. The first recommendation regarding the derogation goes to the heart of the problem. As the agricultural unions state in their response, the new regulations would have led to the majority of cattle farmers in Wales having to stock fewer cattle, impacting their viability, as well as the viability of related businesses, such as dairy factories and so on. In the report, we see Aled Jones of the NFU as well as the FUW warning that the new regulations, as they stood, would be hugely damaging, particularly to the small upland farms of Wales. No word of a lie, I saw farmers in my constituency who were telling me that they would be getting rid of all of their cattle from the uplands. For some, this would mean that they would have to give up farming entirely, and for others, it meant stocking more sheep on the hills. Now, the irony with that, of course, is that removing cattle from the uplands and replacing them with sheep would lead to more damage in terms of biodiversity. The RSPB and other bodies argue that cattle are needed to graze our uplands, and this is noted in the report. But in addition to this, forcing such a change so quickly would do the same to our agricultural communities as Margaret Thatcher did to our mining communities, which is to cause lasting damage almost overnight. That is why the recent joint statement between Plaid Cymru and the Government with regard to pausing the introduction of the next phase and considering the introduction of a licensing system for farmers, to enable them to spread up to 250 kg of nitrogen on their land, is to be warmly welcomed. Not only will this ensure the continuity of the backbone of our rural communities and everything associated with that, economically and culturally, but it will be of significant benefit to biodiversity in Wales, and that is very much to be welcomed too. The report makes clear that the costs of building the necessary infrastructure are huge, and increasing, and the second recommendation makes it clear that transparency is needed regarding what support is available to farmers. It is clear that the amount initially allocated was nowhere near sufficient, as the evidence given by Gareth Hughes from the FUW noted. It is, therefore, good to see that the Government, in its agreement with Plaid Cymru, has secured an additional £20 million to try to ensure that farmers have the necessary infrastructure and resources. Will this be enough? Perhaps not, but it is much better than what was previously on offer in the previous situation. Finally, the report refers to the need for farmers to construct or enhance their slurry storage. Now, once again, come to Dwyfor Meirionnydd and I'll introduce you to farmers who sought planning permission to build new slurry storage facilities, but who found it difficult to obtain planning consent. It is very easy to state on paper that this, that or the other should be done, but it's a very different matter to act on those ambitions in the real world. So, in considering recommendation 3, it is good to see that the Government, again in its agreement with Plaid Cymru, will allow an additional two years to enable this work to progress, and to ensure the just transition that farmers need. Thank you very much.
Welsh: Diolch i'r pwyllgor, y Cadeirydd a'r holl staff, fel y dywedodd Sam Kurtz, am eu gwaith trylwyr iawn yn gwneud yr ymchwil yma. Mae'n rhaid dechrau drwy gydnabod ein bod ni yn gweld llawer gormod o achosion o lygredd dŵr yn ein dyfroedd, ac mae'n rhaid i bawb gymryd cyfrifoldeb a chwarae eu rhan - y ffermwyr, ie, ond hefyd y cwmnïau dŵr, cwmnïau adeiladu a phawb arall. Ond, mae'n rhaid i ni hefyd gydnabod rôl y diwydiant amaethyddol yn ein cymunedau gwledig, o ran ei gyfraniad gwerthfawr i'r economi leol, ei gyfraniad amhrisiadwy i ddiwylliant a chymuned, heb sôn wrth gwrs am ei rôl ganolog, sef cynhyrchu bwyd maethlon o ansawdd. Mae'r argymhelliad cyntaf un, ynghylch y derogation, yn mynd at galon y broblem. Fel y dywed yr undebau amaethyddol yn eu cyfraniad, byddai'r rheoliadau newydd wedi arwain at y rhan fwyaf o ffermwyr gwartheg Cymru yn gorfod stocio llai, gan effeithio ar eu hyfywedd, yn ogystal â hyfywedd busnesau eraill, megis ffatrïoedd llaeth, ac yn y blaen. Yn yr adroddiad, rydym ni'n gweld Aled Jones o'r NFU a'r FUW yn rhybuddio y byddai'r rheoliadau newydd, fel ag yr oedden nhw, yn hynod o niweidiol, yn enwedig i ffermydd bach ucheldir Cymru. Heb air o gelwydd, roeddwn i yn gweld ffermwyr yn fy etholaeth i yn dweud eu bod nhw am gael gwared ar wartheg yn llwyr o'r ucheldiroedd. I rai, roedd hynny am olygu eu bod nhw yn mynd allan o ffermio yn gyfan gwbl, i eraill roedd yn golygu eu bod nhw am stocio mwy o ddefaid ar y mynydd. Rŵan, yr eironi wrth gwrs efo hynny ydy y byddai tynnu gwartheg i ffwrdd o'r ucheldir a rhoi defaid yn eu lle yn arwain at fwy o niwed bioamrywiaeth. Mae'r RSPB a chyrff eraill yn dadlau bod angen gwartheg i bori ein hucheldiroedd, ac mae hyn yn cael ei nodi yn yr adroddiad. Ond yn ogystal â hyn, byddai gorfodi y newid yma mor sydyn yn gwneud yr un peth i'n cymunedau amaethyddol ag y gwnaeth Margaret Thatcher i'n cymunedau glofaol, sef creu niwed parhaol, a hynny dros nos. Dyna pam fod y cyhoeddiad diweddar rhwng Plaid Cymru a'r Llywodraeth ynghylch oedi cyflwyno y cam nesaf ac edrych i gyflwyno system drwyddedi i ffermwyr, er mwyn iddyn nhw fedru lledaenu hyd at 250 kg o nitrogen ar eu tir, i'w groesawu. Nid yn unig y bydd yn sicrhau parhad asgwrn cefn ein cymunedau gwledig a phob dim sydd ynghlwm â hynny, yn economaidd ac yn ddiwylliannol, ond bydd hefyd o fudd sylweddol i fioamrywiaeth yng Nghymru, ac mae hynny i'w groesawu yn gynnes. Mae'r adroddiad yn ei gwneud yn glir bod y costau o adeiladu yr isadeiledd angenrheidiol yn anferthol, ac yn cynyddu, ac mae'r ail argymhelliad yn ei gwneud yn glir bod angen tryloywder ynghylch pa gefnogaeth sydd ar gael i ffermwyr. Mae'n amlwg nad oedd y swm a ddynodwyd yn wreiddiol yn ddigon o bell ffordd, fel roedd tystiolaeth Gareth Hughes o'r FUW yn nodi. Felly, mae'n dda o beth gweld bod y Llywodraeth, yn y cytundeb efo Plaid Cymru, wedi sicrhau £20 miliwn yn ychwanegol er mwyn ceisio sicrhau bod gan ffermwyr yr isadeiledd ac adnoddau angenrheidiol. A fydd o'n ddigon? Hwyrach ddim, ond mae'n llawer iawn gwell na'r sefyllfa roeddem ni ynddi ynghynt. Yn olaf, mae'r adroddiad yn cyfeirio at yr angen i ffermwyr adeiladu neu wella storfeydd slyri. Rŵan, unwaith eto, dowch i Ddwyfor Meirionnydd ac fe wnaf i eich cyflwyno chi i ffermwyr oedd yn trio am ganiatâd cynllunio i adeiladu storfeydd slyri newydd, ond oedd yn cael trafferthion cael caniatâd cynllunio. Mae'n hawdd iawn dweud ar bapur fod angen gwneud hyn, llall ac arall, ond mae'n fater gwahanol iawn gweithredu'r uchelgeisiau hynny yn y byd go iawn. Felly, wrth ystyried argymhelliad 3, mae'n dda gweld bod y Llywodraeth, yn eu cytundeb efo Plaid Cymru, am sicrhau dwy flynedd yn ychwanegol, yr amser yna i alluogi y gwaith yma i fynd rhagddo, a sicrhau y just transition hwnnw sydd angen ar ffermwyr. Diolch yn fawr iawn.