The past few weeks in Wales have been a whirlwind of food-related events and conversations. From the Royal Welsh Show to Senedd inquiries, the spotlight has been firmly on the future of our food system – and rightly so.

At the Royal Welsh Show, the Sustainable Farming Scheme took centre stage. Meanwhile, the Senedd’s Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs (ETRA) Committee launched an inquiry into food processing. I had the opportunity to give evidence where we asked a fundamental question: is the Welsh Government’s current vision for the food and drink sector still fit for purpose? My answer? Not quite.

It’s not a case of tearing everything up and starting again. But relying on a single metric – sales turnover – as a measure of success is too narrow. As others have pointed out, turnover is vanity, profit is sanity. But even profit doesn’t tell the whole story. We need to ask: what kind of food system do we want for Wales? One that serves people, communities, and the environment – not just one company’s bottom line.

For over a decade, Welsh Government’s food and drink policy has celebrated rising turnover in the sector – from £5bn to now over £10bn. But how much of that reflects inflation, rather than genuine progress? And what does it mean for farmers and citizens who are struggling with prices at the farm gate and on the shelves?

Last week, I attended the second Water Pollution Summit in Pembrokeshire. It focused on tackling agricultural pollution in our waterways – a long-standing issue. The solutions on offer were varied: technological fixes, regulatory tweaks, financial incentives. But stepping back, it felt like we were applying sticking plasters to a deeper problem. Should we continue promoting and indeed financially supporting from the public purse the unchecked expansion of the food sector when its impacts – like phosphate pollution – are stalling housebuilding and development?

There’s a growing disconnect between pre- and post-farm gate policy. On one hand, we’re pushing for growth in food processing and exports. On the other, we’re asking farmers to pivot to a Sustainable Farming Scheme. These goals aren’t aligned, and that’s a problem.

What’s needed now is a joined-up strategy. One that sees the food system as a whole, not in silos. I hope the ETRA Committee’s final report will call for just that – and that it sparks serious debate ahead of the May 2026 election.

Because if we’re serious about building a food system that works for Wales, we need to start asking better questions. And we need answers that go beyond one narrow set of numbers.