Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood has called upon the First Minister and the Welsh Government to encourage increased use of local produce.
The South Wales Central AM has previously advocated increased allotment provision and establishing food co-operatives in her policy paper ‘A Greenprint for the Valleys’ as a means of stimulating the regeneration of the former coalfield areas of South Wales.
Ms Wood renewed those calls during questions to the First Minister, Carwyn Jones, when she asked for more to be done to encourage existing and budding growers by creating demand for their products.
Ms Wood said:
“First Minister, there is vast potential to increase the amount of local food and locally produced products that are procured by the public sector. Plaid Cymru intends to push for an inquiry into local procurement through the new committee that is responsible for the economy.
“What can you do to maximise local procurement when the trend is for contracts to be bigger, which militates against small local producers?
“Would you support an inquiry into local procurement and what can you do in the interim to increase the amount of Welsh produce consumed by the Welsh home market?”
In reply, the First Minister insisted that local produce in Wales is now supported.
He added:
“There was a time when almost nothing from Wales went into public sector contracts, but that has changed over the years.”
