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Meeting of the Parliament 18 January 2012

18 Jan 2012 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Common Agricultural Policy (Reform)

Lochhead, Richard SNP Moray Watch on SPTV

I am delighted to speak on the future of the common agricultural policy. I thank the committee for bringing this important debate to Parliament.

This is a crucial time for Scotland. Every week, I meet farmers up and down the country, as I am sure many other members do. I know how important the policy is to Scottish agriculture. Only last week, I was across in Renfrewshire to talk with 30 or so farmers and to hear about their day-to-day challenges and their views on the future. This morning, I addressed Quality Meat Scotland’s biennial marketing conference, where I heard about the growing demand for food across the world and the opportunities that that presents for our producers.

It is vital that we get the new regulations right so that Scottish agriculture continues to underpin our world-class food and drink sector, as well as delivering other benefits. Scotland’s food and drink sector has a bright future. In 2009, food and drink turnover in Scotland increased to £11.9 billion. That is already almost at the stretching £12.5 billion target that Scotland Food & Drink set for 2017. We will all have to reconsider our predictions, as we are breaking all records for growth. That has a lot of implications for our primary producers.

Exports provide us with a fantastic opportunity, too. Food and drink exports stood at £2.4 billion in the first six months of 2011, which is 21 per cent higher than the figure in the same period in the previous year.

Those spectacular successes rely on strong and healthy agriculture with robust protection of our environment—that is very important for our global reputation.

There are good indications that some business conditions for our farmers and crofters might be easing. There is some optimism in the industry but, given the wider economic environment and, in many cases, rising input costs, we must not become complacent. However, after two years of decline, total income from farming increased by 25 per cent in 2010.

Strong export demand produced excellent market conditions that drove up prices for cattle and lambs in 2011, and prospects continue to look good for this year. There are welcome signs that the Scottish beef herd is at least stabilising. The Scottish Agricultural College’s recent report “Response from the hills” suggests that the industry might be at a turning point.

Scottish cereal production is also estimated to have increased by 5 per cent in 2011, producing the fourth-biggest Scottish cereal harvest in more than 20 years.

All that is despite having in the past 12 months some of the most extreme weather that our farmers and crofters have experienced. Those weather conditions highlight the resilience of our food producers but also show why the CAP plays such an important role in Scotland. It helps farmers to produce crops and livestock, whatever the conditions; it is a buffer against volatile conditions, be it the weather or the market; it encourages businesses to innovate and to produce the novel goods that consumers now demand; and it looks after our many natural assets—after all, farmers are the keepers of Scotland’s natural resources.

The CAP has always been important for Scottish agriculture, and it will continue to be so. No one in Scotland will be immune from the effects of CAP reform, whether they live in our rural communities or in the heart of our cities. The CAP is a key European common policy that is suitable for agriculture across Europe. It needs to support farms of all types—large and small, lowland and upland. We have all those types in one country, so the shape of the future CAP is of paramount importance to us all.

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Meeting of the Parliament 18 January 2012

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