Seòmar agus comataidhean

I will move on to theme 6. In my previous life as a farmer, prevention was always better than cure. We are now dealing with the effects of people having been infected with Covid, but how will we stop it continuing to circulate? The convener made the point that only just over 2 million people have taken up the booster. What more can we do? Is it a case of more messaging? How do we get over the vaccine fatigue to remind people that the disease has not gone away and that people are still suffering and dying from it?

Is there a consistent offering across Scotland when it comes to educational support for children and young people with long Covid?

We know that the Office for National Statistics will stop doing its surveillance but that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency will continue to do its surveillance in the waste water plants. Are you confident that that will give us enough data to know how much disease is circulating in the community?

Let me stop you there. Earlier, you talked about the public good with regard to how we deal with biodiversity and all the rest of it. Is producing food not a public good?

What do you mean by “technically”?

That is the question that I am asking you.

In what sense?

I apologise.

Jonnie, you said that farmers in England are taking a step back. Given the amount of support that is required to keep farming in Scotland viable, how do farmers take a step back if they do not like the policy?

In effect, then, what you are saying is that, for the whole supply chain to work, you cannot try to find a solution for each individual bit—you have to look at the whole system that is in place.

We have roamed about on this issue, but I want to go back to the opportunities for the food and drink sector that you touched on in response to Ariane Burgess.

With regard to farmers’ ability to diversify, the CCC said last week that we needed to reduce numbers and all the rest of it, and, in that respect, I am very glad that you have mentioned critical mass, because that is the bit that I want to talk about. What if, for instance, we decided to say, “Right, we’re going to pay £1,000 for every calf that’s born on a hill, but you need to reduce the numbers of suckler cows that you produce by 20 or 30 per cent”? What would be the net effect of targeting just one specific problem in that way?