Chamber
Plenary, 28 Feb 2007
28 Feb 2007 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Organic Farming
We think that about £23 million would meet the true demand. As for Mr Arbuckle's intervention on an earlier speaker, saying that people can farm organically without the organic aid scheme is like saying that people can farm conventionally without single farm payments.
Further expansion of support under land management contracts should be funded by increased modulation and should extend to all agri-environment measures, including both the organic aid scheme and the rural stewardship scheme. In that respect, will the minister, in summing up, give us a progress report on the Scottish rural development plan?
Organic farming delivers public goods to which the Executive is committed, such as biodiversity, sustainability and the reduction of food miles; moreover, locally sourced organic produce can improve our national diet. At the moment, there are weaknesses in the areas of research, advice, supply chain development, public communication and public procurement. In particular, page 22 of the organic action plan contains a promise to tackle procurement policies, but that promise has not yet been delivered in any meaningful way.
As other members have pointed out, rolling out the food for life programme will help to put sustainable, healthy food into Scotland's public sector organisations. After evaluating East Ayrshire Council's pilot scheme to introduce food for life standards for the procurement of foodstuffs supplied to primary schools, the Scottish Executive concluded that the pilot provided evidence of improvement in the quality of ingredients, a reduction in waste and a reduction in the distances travelled by foodstuffs. Such public benefits need to be supported and rolled out across Scotland.
Organic food sales in the United Kingdom rose by a massive 30 per cent in 2005 and the indications are that that growth is likely to continue. Failure to meet such demand represents not only a lost opportunity for the environmental and health benefits of organic food, but significant lost business opportunities for Scottish farmers. We should move ahead by establishing organic farming as the centrepiece of food and farming in Scotland, and we should begin by producing a reinvigorated organic action plan in the next session.
I move amendment S2M-5655.3, to insert at end:
"and further commits to the production of a revised and strengthened organic action plan to include ambitious targets for increased land area and market penetration, prioritised support for the organic sector through land management contracts, grants and support for local supply chain development, including a review of barriers to further growth across the sector, an organic public procurement strategy adopting the successful "Food for Life" standards across the public sector, a communication strategy to engage with the public about the benefits of organic food and farming, strengthened advisory support and a review of SEERAD's research and development strategy."
Further expansion of support under land management contracts should be funded by increased modulation and should extend to all agri-environment measures, including both the organic aid scheme and the rural stewardship scheme. In that respect, will the minister, in summing up, give us a progress report on the Scottish rural development plan?
Organic farming delivers public goods to which the Executive is committed, such as biodiversity, sustainability and the reduction of food miles; moreover, locally sourced organic produce can improve our national diet. At the moment, there are weaknesses in the areas of research, advice, supply chain development, public communication and public procurement. In particular, page 22 of the organic action plan contains a promise to tackle procurement policies, but that promise has not yet been delivered in any meaningful way.
As other members have pointed out, rolling out the food for life programme will help to put sustainable, healthy food into Scotland's public sector organisations. After evaluating East Ayrshire Council's pilot scheme to introduce food for life standards for the procurement of foodstuffs supplied to primary schools, the Scottish Executive concluded that the pilot provided evidence of improvement in the quality of ingredients, a reduction in waste and a reduction in the distances travelled by foodstuffs. Such public benefits need to be supported and rolled out across Scotland.
Organic food sales in the United Kingdom rose by a massive 30 per cent in 2005 and the indications are that that growth is likely to continue. Failure to meet such demand represents not only a lost opportunity for the environmental and health benefits of organic food, but significant lost business opportunities for Scottish farmers. We should move ahead by establishing organic farming as the centrepiece of food and farming in Scotland, and we should begin by producing a reinvigorated organic action plan in the next session.
I move amendment S2M-5655.3, to insert at end:
"and further commits to the production of a revised and strengthened organic action plan to include ambitious targets for increased land area and market penetration, prioritised support for the organic sector through land management contracts, grants and support for local supply chain development, including a review of barriers to further growth across the sector, an organic public procurement strategy adopting the successful "Food for Life" standards across the public sector, a communication strategy to engage with the public about the benefits of organic food and farming, strengthened advisory support and a review of SEERAD's research and development strategy."
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Murray Tosh):
Con
The next item of business is a debate on motion S2M-5655, in the name of Sarah Boyack, on the future of Scotland's organic farming.
The Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development (Sarah Boyack):
Lab
I was keen to secure a parliamentary debate on progress on the organic action plan. The Parliament was keen to support that plan in the first session, and I ...
Christine May (Central Fife) (Lab):
Lab
Will the minister also pay tribute to the many farmers in Scotland who, while they are not certified as organic, nonetheless use responsible farming methods ...
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
Obviously, I pay tribute to them. Environmentally friendly conventional farming can make a strong contribution to our country's biodiversity and landscapes. ...
Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green):
Green
Will the minister give way?
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
I will finish my point first.Of course, if we look behind those figures we can see that most sectors meet more than 70 per cent of demand, particularly the b...
Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP):
SNP
The Scottish National Party very much welcomes today's debate. It has been a long time since we debated agriculture in the chamber. It was debated many times...
Mr Andrew Arbuckle (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD):
LD
Is the member aware that the fact that applicants are not admitted to the organic aid scheme does not prevent them from going organic on their own?
Richard Lochhead:
SNP
I appreciate that, but I wanted to highlight the statistic, because it highlights the wider issue that faces farmers who are seeking financial support.The si...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
You should be winding up now, Mr Lochhead.
Richard Lochhead:
SNP
It is clear that we have to send out better signals to the organic sector in Scotland. The sector needs to know that it can compete for public procurement co...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
Thank you.
Richard Lochhead:
SNP
I commend the SNP amendment to the chamber. I move amendment S2M-5655.2, to insert at end:"but believes that, as many of the targets in the current Organic A...
Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con):
Con
I welcome the publication of the "Third Organic Annual Report", which is a document about which I take rather a more positive view than the previous speaker ...
Mr Ruskell:
Green
The table on page 54 of the Soil Association's "Market research study into the market penetration of Scottish organic produce" shows that only 50 per cent of...
Alex Johnstone:
Con
We are making radical progress. The danger in failing to match supply and demand is a collapse in prices. We have avoided that so far. In fact, the Executive...
Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green):
Green
Our amendment echoes the terms of Sarah Boyack's motion on organic food fortnight, which was debated last September and which called on the Scottish Executiv...
Mr Arbuckle:
LD
By how much would the Greens increase the organic support budget?
Eleanor Scott:
Green
We think that about £23 million would meet the true demand. As for Mr Arbuckle's intervention on an earlier speaker, saying that people can farm organically ...
Mr Andrew Arbuckle (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD):
LD
I point out to Ms Scott that a fair proportion of the agriculture sector operates on an unsupported basis—the producers of pigs, poultry, potatoes and soft f...
Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
Does the conventional farming that the member talks about use a lot of nitrate fertilisers? Is that a traditional form of Scottish farming? Can the use of su...
Mr Arbuckle:
LD
Conventional farmers do not use a lot of nitrate fertilisers, although they use them. Organic farmers use copper sulphate solution, which is pretty noxious, ...
Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab):
Lab
I welcome the "Third Organic Annual Report". It seems a long time since I last spoke on the subject, when I supported the aims of Robin Harper's Organic Farm...
Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP):
SNP
There has been a fair degree of change in the period of just more than four years since we last had a debate on organic farming—most of it has been for the b...
Mr Arbuckle:
LD
Will the member give way?
Stewart Stevenson:
SNP
I am sorry, I am in the last minute of my speech.I have difficulty with the claim that we are on target. According to the minutes of the 23rd meeting of the ...
Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab):
Lab
Like other members, I welcome the progress that has been made in moving organic produce up the agenda in Scotland and in taking the issue more seriously than...
Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
Is that why you are sitting behind him?
Karen Gillon:
Lab
Jamie McGrigor can see that I am far enough away not to be part of his group.Like many members, I recognise the quality of what is produced throughout the fa...
Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green):
Green
I was a bit concerned, at the beginning of the debate, that it would be about motherhood and organic apple pie, albeit laced with finest Benromach malt whisk...