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For too long, rural Wales has been an afterthought for the Westminster parties.

Whether it is the Tories' cuts to farm funding or dodgy trade deals after their botched Brexit, or Labour's tone-deaf Inheritance Tax proposals, the UK parties clearly do not understand or even care about our rural communities.

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Here in Wales, the Labour Welsh Government has shown similar disregard, giving us piecemeal policies, urban-centric legislation, and a lack of vision for the countryside.

NextÌýto no strategic, joined-up thinking about the future of rural Wales.

Rural agenda at the heart of Welsh Government

Plaid Cymru says: enough is enough. It is time for a rural reset — a new era of putting rural policy at the heart of Welsh Government.Ìý

Plaid Cymru will back our family farms. Starting with funding certainty, we are committed to protecting the Welsh farmingÌýbudget and to providing longer-term financial security with a multi-year fundingÌýsettlement.

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This will give our farmers greater confidence to get on with what they do best - putting food on our tables.

We will also commission a review of farming bureaucracy to reduce the red tape that's increasingly weighing our farmers down.Ìý

To further support farming communities, Plaid Cymru will protect productive farmland andÌýbuild a stronger Welsh food system with by significantly ramping up the public procurementÌýof Welsh food.

Food strategy

Our National Food Strategy for Wales will be one that better aligns farming,Ìýprocessing, procurement and public health - with a strong focus on Welsh production forÌýWelsh plates.Ìý

Our proposed national economic development agency will be given a clear responsibility forÌýrural economic development.

Growing the rural economy

We want a new Rural Development Strategy with targetedÌýmeasures to overcome the structural barriers that currently hold back our ruralÌýeconomy.

Prosperity should not be postcode dependent, and under Plaid Cymru rural WalesÌýwill get a fairer share of jobs and investment.

There's still work to do on the Sustainable Farming Scheme. We will co-operate closely withÌýfarming stakeholders to be flexible and will evolve, change and amend the scheme as itÌýgoes ahead.

Similarly, with the nitrate vulnerable zones regulations, Plaid Cymru is committed to a more targeted and proportional approach, moving away from the farming-by-calendar approach as recommended by the recent Bolton Review.

bTB

We will also use all the tools at our disposal to tackle bovine TB (bTB) – including the targeted and science-led controlling of bTB in wildlife.

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT: Join Farmers Guardian's Save Britain's Family Farms campaign

As someone who has raised four children on a family farm, I am passionate about supporting the next generation of farmers.

We will work with the Development Bank for Wales to invest in our young people. We will also ensure that our agricultural colleges and those providing tenanted opportunities have a key role to play.

Plaid Cymru or Reform UK?

All the polls show that the Senedd Election is a two-horse race and that Wales faces a clear choice – hope and ambition with Plaid Cymru or chaos and division with Reform UK.

My ambition is that my children have a future living and working in the rural communities thatÌýraised them - a future where rural Wales is not left behind but leads the way.

Plaid Cymru is ready to deliver that future. On May 7, let's reset the rural agenda.

Let's rebuild our communities. Let's reclaim our countryside

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