The Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability () is a member of the cabinet in the Welsh Government. The current officeholder is Llŷr Gruffydd since May 2026.
Ministers NamePictureEntered officeLeft officeOther offices heldPolitical partyGovernmentNotesSecretary for Agriculture and Rural EconomyChristine Gwyther12 May 199922 February 2000LabourMichael government Interim Morgan governmentSecretary for Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentChristine Gwyther22 February 200023 July 2000LabourInterim Morgan governmentCarwyn Jones23 July 200016 October 2000LabourInterim Morgan governmentMinister for Rural AffairsCarwyn Jones16 October 2000LabourFirst Morgan governmentMinister for Assembly Business and Rural AffairsCarwyn Jones26 February 200217 June 2002Minister for Assembly BusinessLabourFirst Morgan governmentMinister for Rural Affairs and Wales AbroadMike German18 June 20021 May 2003 Deputy First Minister of WalesLiberal DemocratFirst Morgan governmentMinister for Environment, Planning and CountrysideCarwyn Jones9 May 20032007LabourSecond Morgan governmentMinister for Rural AffairsElin Jones9 July 200711 May 2011Plaid CymruFourth Morgan government (One Wales coalition of Plaid Cymru and Welsh Labour)
First Jones governmentCabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural AffairsLesley Griffiths19 May 20163 November 2017LabourThird Jones governmentCabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural AffairsLesley Griffiths3 November 201713 December 2018LabourThird Jones governmentMinister for Environment, Energy and Rural AffairsLesley Griffiths13 December 201813 May 2021LabourFirst Drakeford governmentMinister for Rural Affairs, North Wales and TrefnyddLesley Griffiths13 May 202120 March 2024Minister for North Wales TrefnyddLabourSecond Drakeford governmentCabinet Secretary for Rural AffairsHuw Irranca-Davies21 March 202412 May 2026Cabinet Secretary for Climate ChangeLabourGething governmentCabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and SustainabilityLlŷr Gruffydd13 May 2026IncumbentPlaid Cymruap Iorwerth government
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the post, as of December 2023, are to oversee:
Programme for Rural Development Future farming policy, and the direct payments made to farmers Development of the agriculture sector, including wages and skills Genetically modified crops Development of the agri-food sector, its associated supply chains, and the promotion and marketing of food and drink from Wales Animal health and welfare, including the Bovine TB Eradication Plan General policy on livestock, poultry, equines, companion animals, and bees, as well as artificial insemination Policy on identifying and moving livestock Holding registration policy Protection and management of wildlife, including the control of pests, injurious vermin and weeds and the regulation of plant health, seeds and pesticides Oversee the management of inland, coastal and sea fisheries, including policy regulation and enforcement, also overseeing the Common Fisheries Policy and the management of fishery harbours Power to require provision of information about crop prices REACH and Chemical policy New National Park
As a Welsh Minister, the holder is to have an annual salary of £105,701 for 2020–2021.
History When the assembly was established, it was expected that the first holder of the "agriculture and rural affairs portfolio" would be Ron Davies, Labour AM for Caerphilly and former Welsh Labour leader and Welsh Secretary. The shunning of Davies, by his successor Alun Michael, First Secretary of Wales, in Michael's cabinet, was described to be a disappointment and a surprise by Davies. By 2000, there was also a "deputy minister for Rural Affairs, Culture and Environment", with Delyth Evans AM holding the position in Rhodri Morgan's Labour–Liberal Democrate cabinet from 17 October 2000 to 31 July 2002.
During Plaid Cymru's Elin Jones' tenure in the role from 2007, she became notable for implementing some decisions while Minister for Rural Affairs. She announced the mass cull of Wales’ badger population in an effort to reduce bovine TB. While in the role, Jones clashed with the UK Government by supporting the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, and opposed the idea of selling woodland as is the practice in England. In 2010, Jones set out a horticulture plan while in the role. Following the 2011 National Assembly for Wales election, Labour decided to form a government without Plaid Cymru, therefore Jones was not returned to the role. Carwyn Jones, then first minister, was criticised in 2011 for not including a "rural affairs" role in his cabinet.
The position was reestablished in 2016, following the appointment of Lesley Griffiths as Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs.
See also
Ministry
References