Food and Drink

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 1 September 2021.

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Photo of Finlay Carson Finlay Carson Conservative

The response that I would give is that the agriculture sector in this country is far more concerned and worried about the future, given the lack of direction shown by the cabinet secretary’s Government.

The Scotland Food & Drink partnership has already come up with a strategy called “Ambition 2030”, which aims to promote farming and fishing, as well as food and drink. It brings together the food producers and processors that make food and drink Scotland’s most valuable industry, employing 47,000 people and contributing £3.9 billion gross value added to the economy from a turnover of around £11 billion.

We all want to ensure that the sector continues to be recognised as a world leader in responsible, sustainable and profitable growth, but that can be achieved only by the Government working in tandem with the Scottish food and drink industry—from farmers and growers to processors, wholesalers, distributors and retailers—in the drive to promote the sector by providing greater resources and incentives in order to create the workforce that future growth demands. We need to create high-quality jobs and rewarding employment that will subsequently encourage more young people to consider the sector as a worthwhile and rewarding career choice, and we need to see far more apprenticeships and other schemes being offered than at present, especially now in the wake of the pandemic, when morale and mental health among the younger generation remain critical.

The Scotland Food & Drink partnership wants to encourage more young people into farming and fishing and at the same time improve Scotland’s diet and nutrition. We need to encourage a more healthy approach to eating. That must be a top priority, given that our consumption of fruit and vegetables remains disturbingly low. There has been a lamentable lack of progress on healthy eating in Scotland. Mean fruit and vegetable consumption stands at 3.2 portions a day, short of the target of 5, and the grams per day intake of fruit and veg has not changed since 2001—in fact, it has dropped somewhat.

Agriculture remains very much at the heart of my constituency, but yet again the SNP Government has failed it at every turn. We are still waiting for the Government to publish its plans on future farming funding, which were promised by the end of 2020. Although I endorse the high level of stakeholder engagement that we have seen, there comes a time when the Government must make its future plans clear, and it has absolutely failed in that. That does not surprise me, especially as it took the Government two years to even arrive at a simple consultation process.

It is little wonder that the NFUS last year described the Government’s failure as

“a disaster in the making for Scottish agriculture.”

Indeed, the same organisation previously slated it for having “no vision” on future farming policy, or even where it wants to be in the near future. Once again, I would urge the Government to stop the dilly-dally and delay and, with urgency, bring forward its vision and supporting policies for the future of rural and agriculture support. With farmers, crofters and growers facing huge challenges but nevertheless stepping up to the mark to do their bit to address climate change and biodiversity loss, they need this Government’s support. Farmers must be given clarity now and given a clear direction on Scotland’s future farm policy—of that there is no doubt.

Earlier this month, Mairi Gougeon launched a consultation on a local food strategy whereby more local production would be encouraged in order to reduce the distance that food travels, but that is something that should have been done long ago. Public sector procurement policies and procedures must be urgently reviewed. It is quite remarkable that a food processor in Wales sends truck loads of meals to some of our hospitals and schools in Scotland. That is unacceptable and one of the reasons why the Scottish Conservatives have been calling for a comprehensive farm to fork review of Scotland’s food policy that aims to boost demand for our own produce and improve public procurement that utilises Scottish produce and, more importantly, reduces food waste and food miles.

We stand with and fully support the sector in its drive towards greater productivity while attempting to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. The Food and Drink Federation Scotland plans to launch its road map at COP26 in two months’ time. It will look at the actions that businesses can take in a host of areas, including packaging, manufacturing, distribution and storage. It will also point to the role that customers have in reducing the carbon footprint of food. Clearly the federation has a vision—it is just a pity that this Government and its ministers appear not to follow that good example.