Chamber and committees

I represent a hugely rural region that has many of Scotland’s hard-working farmers, so I wanted to speak. As does the Government’s motion, I applaud the progress that has been made by the agriculture and aquaculture sectors to adapt to and mitigate the impact of the twin global climate and biodiversity crises.

Our farmers face huge pressure in the media and, as NFU Scotland has pointed out, often feel vilified and blamed for causing climate change. That isnae the case. Our farmers and fishers are our food producers. They work incredibly hard to mitigate the impact of climate change. The evidence shows that, particularly in Scotland, our farmers, crofters and food producers have already hugely adapted to the practices that have been mentioned in order to protect our environment and reduce their carbon footprint.

Much of that change has been made possible through investment in agricultural sciences and emerging technologies. I have witnessed much research—for instance, the dairy nexus at the Barony campus of Scotland’s Rural College, and vertical farming, which has been mentioned by John Swinney.

I know from farmers in Dumfries and Galloway that they are installing on-farm renewable energy production, such as solar panels and wind turbines; that they are minimising the use of petroleum-based fertilisers and pesticides; and that they are reducing dependence on fossil fuel inputs for their farming, storage and transportation of crops and livestock. They are increasing soil health by increasing plant matter, and building soil fertility through practices such as compost application, the planting of cover crops and reduced-till or no-till cultivation.

My constituent Christopher Nicholson, chair of the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association, who farms at Whithorn, has not ploughed or deep-cultivated for more than 20 years. He says that not only is there a big cost saving in fuel and machinery, there is improved soil health and a higher level of soil organic matter. Soil health is crucial for food security. Kaukab Stewart spoke about that.

The Scottish Government’s vision is for Scotland to become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture. There is no contradiction between high-quality food production, food security and the production of food in a way that delivers for the climate and nature.

The Scottish Government has been clear and consistent in its position. It expects full equivalent replacement of EU funds to ensure that there is no detriment to our finances and it expects the UK Government to fully respect the devolution settlement in any future arrangement. However, the Scottish Government has no clarity about the future budget and already faces a shortfall of £93 million because those guarantees have not been honoured.

I am proud of our farmers in Scotland. We should all be proud of our Scottish farmers. They are our food producers and the custodians of our land, and they deserve our thanks. I will support the Scottish Government motion at decision time tonight.

I am co-convener of the cross-party group on lung health, which has explored the issue of e-cigarettes and vaping. We were presented with clear evidence that young people are targeted directly through marketing strategies that include the use of attractive bright packaging and attractive flavours, including candyfloss, pink lemonade and bubble gum.

Emerging evidence shows that vaping is a future lung health ticking time bomb. Will the minister commit to bringing forward the regulations as soon as possible, to ensure that we protect young people from the health harms of vaping?

I do not think that I have the time to do so, Presiding Officer, because last time I took an intervention from Finlay Carson, he made a speech, and I think that we are out of time.

The Scottish Government continues to support food production and secure food supply in this country. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of maintaining support for the sector. That is why it has committed to maintaining direct payments. Additional support is provided to the food producing sector by ensuring payments through the basic payment scheme and greening payments, which were made in advance. Annually, the Government provides around £420 million through those schemes.

However, in the face of the support that the Scottish Government is giving to support our food producers, we are continually hammered by UK Government policies. As the motion states, the food and drink sector in Scotland and across the UK has borne the brunt of the clarty—yes, clarty—Brexit that was pursued by the UK Government, particularly due to the loss of free trade and free movement.

Martin Kennedy, the president of NFU Scotland, said that the Brexit dividend has certainly not come about at all and that all the things that it was concerned about—the whole reason why we backed remain at the time—have come to fruition. Scotland’s food and drink sector lost many of the benefits that it once had when we were trading with the European Union and part of the single market. Many Scottish food industries, including seafood and cheese producers and livestock transporters across Galloway in my South Scotland region, have suffered from reduced exports to the EU. At a time when food security faces unprecedented threats, it was appallingly reckless for the UK Government to place our trading relationship with the EU in jeopardy.

I absolutely welcome the food security unit that the cabinet secretary established in response to the war in Ukraine. The unit will look at current and future threats to ensure food resilience across Scotland, and I welcome the fact that the cabinet secretary established it.

Brexit means that the Scottish Government no longer has long-term certainty of funding. That the unilateral choices that are being imposed by the Treasury provide insufficient replacement EU funding is a huge concern.

Good morning. As a nurse, I am always interested in infection control and prevention. Obviously, Covid has really educated people about how we transmit infection. You mentioned Cumbria and the movement of cattle from one side of the border to the other. The proposal is to change the validity period of negative results from 60 days to 30 days, as far as movement is concerned. How will farmers in England know that we have changed processes in Scotland? Is that a concern that we have?

The two farmers I spoke to were very well informed about and quite welcoming of the changes in the consolidation of the regulation, so they did not seem concerned. That is quite welcome.

To go back to what the convener said earlier, we should be proud that Scotland has TB-free status. Biosecurity is about being aware of how diseases spread and what practical measures can be implemented to reduce spread. I am also thinking about other bovine diseases such as Johne’s disease. TB is not the only one.

My perception is that farmers are very aware of how diseases are transmitted and what they need to do to prevent that from happening, and that isolation is part of that. What do you perceive the attitudes of farmers to be? I think that they are doing a great job and that we should be—to go back to the word that the convener used—proud of our producers in Scotland. How do you feel about that?

I, too, agree, convener.

Will the cabinet secretary give way?