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19 February 2024
The Scottish Parliament Rural Affairs & Islands Committee has today hosted 40 land managers and community representatives from across Scotland to help inform its scrutiny of the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill.
The Committee was keen to hear more from those whose daily lives and livelihoods will be impacted most by the legislation – which represents the Scottish Government’s ‘vision for agriculture’, to transform farming and food production in Scotland and to make it a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.
In particular, the Committee wanted to capture the experiences, concerns and expectations of a spread of stakeholders including crofters, farmers, tenant farmers, community development representatives and integrated land management specialists, through a day of reflection and discussion.
Information collated from the event will influence the questions put to Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon, who is due to give evidence to the Committee on Wednesday 21 February. It will also feed directly into the recommendations the Committee makes at the end of its’ Stage 1 scrutiny.
Speaking at the event, Committee Convener Finlay Carson MSP, said;
“No voice is more important than whose daily lives and livelihoods will be most impacted by this legislation and that is what today was all about – hearing individuals’ experiences and concerns and making sure that they are reflected in the legislation put before Parliament for approval.
“There has been a fantastic exchange of views here today with discussion and reflection at the heart of it all. We are now looking forward to being able to question the Cabinet Secretary on Wednesday, with all these important insights at the forefront of our thinking.”
For the last 12 months, the Committee has been scrutinising agriculture policy through a programme of evidence sessions, a call for views, roundtable discussions and visit to farms across Scotland. The Committee expects to publish its Stage 1 report in March 2024.
Some questions participants will be asked during the event -
The Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill was introduced by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon MSP, on 28 September 2023.
The Bill provides a framework that Scottish Ministers ‘will use to develop the support that farming and rural communities need in order to adapt to new opportunities and new challenges, and to prosper in a changing world’.
It also gives Scottish Ministers the powers to provide financial support through a four-tier model to farmers, crofters and rural communities to achieve high quality food production; climate mitigation and adaptation; nature restoration and wider rural development.
The Scottish Government believes this approach – a framework bill with the policy details made by regulations at a later date – would give it the flexibility to respond, “to future social, economic and environmental changes, challenges and opportunities”.
The Bill would implement the Scottish Government’s consultation on its proposals for future agriculture policy contained in its Vision for Agriculture. The Committee has undertaken pre-legislative scrutiny of these proposals.
Some questions participants will be asked during the event -
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Hilda Stewart, Communications Manager
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