 The next item of business is a debate in motion 9014 in the name of Marie Gougeon on securing a sustainable food supply for Scotland. I would invite those members who would wish to speak in the debate to please press the request to speak buttons. I call on Marie Gougeon, cabinet secretary, to speak to and to move the motion. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Making sure that our nation has a safe and steady food supply is one of government's key responsibilities. It's as important now as it was when Emperor Hadrian was worrying about losing access to North African grain producing regions. And of course, Russia's illegal war against Ukraine has brought into sharp focus how vulnerable global food supply chains still are to those unexpected shocks. Key supply chains are also still recovering from the impact of the global pandemic. But this is a shorter-term issue. Of much greater long-term concern is the completely unavoidable disruption foisted upon Scotland through Brexit. It was the Tory's choice to pursue a hard Brexit, removing us from the EU, the single market and the customs union. As well as causing trade disruption, it's created significant workforce recruitment and retention issues for Scotland's food and drink sector. Of course, Labour is now also committed to Brexit and apparently thinks that it can make the unworkable work, despite all the evidence showing that Brexit is making our economy poorer. Brexit has weakened our food and drink sector in so many ways. Happy to. On the point of the benefits of leaving the European Union, one of them is taking the technology of gene editing. Will the cabinet secretary commit and agree with the words of the EU commission in their inception impact assessment, which says that they are no longer fit for purpose? I'm even surprised that the member can find one Brexit benefit, but I'm sure that we'll come on to discuss some of these issues later on in the debate. As I was mentioning before, many exports to the EU have fallen, including a 38 per cent fall in fruit and vegetable exports. I'm grateful to the cabinet secretary for giving way on the subject of Brexit. I'm not surprised that in the very lengthy Conservative amendment to the Government motion today, which is in fact longer than the Government's motion, there is absolutely no mention of Brexit. Does that perhaps lead us to believe that the Conservatives are now embarrassed by the impact of Brexit on the Scottish farming economy? I think that that is exactly the point. Again, as I was talking about the exports that we've seen have fallen, I mentioned the 38 per cent fall in fruit and vegetable exports, a 7 per cent fall in dairy and egg exports between 2019 and 2022. Thanks to the Tories' hard Brexit, products such as seed potatoes and chilled meats can no longer be exported to the EU at all. Cutting off high-quality Scottish produce from this important market entirely with that knock-on impact on food security for those countries. Most of all, Brexit has harmed our trading relationship with the EU, our most important trade partner and one of the world's biggest agri-food producers. Consequently, those shocks and challenges mean that we need to focus more on food security as a nation and build resilience into Scotland's food system as a good food nation. We need to anticipate and adapt to shocks and challenges as much as we can and develop policies to try to mitigate them and reduce their likelihood. That was the aim of the short-life food security and supply task force that I set up last year in partnership with industry, immediately following the invasion of Ukraine. That task force allowed us to monitor, identify and respond to disruption to food supply and its report included a series of short, medium and longer-term recommendations to try to mitigate those impacts, resolve supply issues and, ultimately, strengthen food security and supply in Scotland. Those recommendations have been substantively met and, most significantly, we now have the food security unit within Scottish Government up and running. The food security unit is taking forward the legacy activity of that task force and will develop evidence-based monitoring for supply chain risks, including gathering and co-ordinating the best intelligence about risks and emerging issues. After all, the supply chain is complex and every part is reliant on others, from producers to packagers to purchasers. That monitoring and horizon scanning will provide government and industry with better insight into global supply chain performance to help to improve that responsiveness to short and longer-term potential crises and challenges. There is a further long-term challenge for us all to adapt to and address climate change. Over recent years, we have seen increased severe weather events impacting on the established rhythm of farming practice. Climate change is already affecting our food security. That will only become more acute unless we transform our land use. To create a more sustainable food supply for Scotland, we need to produce more of our own food more sustainably. Scotland's food and farming sectors have a critical role to play, producing food for consumption in Scotland and for trade through exports of food and drink worth £8 billion a year. Scotland's farmers, crofters and seafood producers produce fantastic food. Our manufacturers, processors and distributors ensure that we have that high quality, sought-after products prepared, packaged and distributed to a wide range of markets and audiences. We should not forget the absolutely amazing fortitude and resilience that our food chain has shown throughout Covid-19. The Scottish Government is committed to supporting our nation's producers and that is why we will maintain direct payments for food production. Given that she commented on the climate change challenges, how many recommendations have come out from the farmer-led groups in 2020 that have been implemented? That is exactly why we set up the ARIO board to help us to look at those recommendations and implement them. The farmer-led group recommendations are the absolute foundation of our future policy and what we are taking forward. Our vision for agriculture has food at its heart, making clear our support for farmers and crofters and providing the country with healthy and nutritious food while also ensuring that Scotland meets its world-leading climate and nature restoration outcomes. Co-development with the sector through forums such as that I have just mentioned, the Agricultural Reform Implementation Oversight Board will enable achievement of our shared objectives. Protecting our natural environment and restoring biodiversity is essential to sustainable and regenerative agriculture. As Parliament agreed on 15 March, the Agriculture Reform Rootmap shows that there is no contradiction between high-quality food production and producing it in a way that delivers for climate and nature restoration. Similarly, Scotland's marine environment and our seafood sector play an important role in domestic food security, as well as our economic security in terms of export value, with exports of Scottish fish and seafood valued at £788 million in 2021. Indeed, Scottish Salmon is the UK's biggest food export. Our marine environment contributes significantly to our good food nation, with local seafood forming part of a healthy, sustainable diet, which is the ambition of the local food strategy. Our blue economy vision recognises the key role that Scotland sees and calls should play in contributing to the nation's future prosperity, especially in remote coastal, rural and island communities. Yet, as was highlighted by Seafood Scotland last year, Brexit continues to damage the sector's competitiveness, with a knock-on impact to the economy of our coastal and island communities. However much the Opposition tries, we cannot escape the fact that Scotland remains vulnerable to the impacts of policies, emissions and poor decision making by Westminster, whoever is in power there. Energy is one such reserved issue, and we've called for energy price setting in the gas and electricity markets, as well as the powers and resources needed to tackle rising costs on the scale that's required. Access to borrowing, welfare, that on fuel and energy bills, taxation of windfall profits and regulation of the energy market. We remain concerned that the UK Government's energy bills discount scheme for businesses represents a significant reduction in funding for organisations already struggling with their energy costs. Not at the moment, I need to make some progress. We also need Westminster to act on migration, or better still, to devolve those powers to Scotland. Migration is crucial to our future prosperity, and current policy is damaging our economy and society. The labour shortage is particularly harmful to Scotland's soft fruit, horticulture and seasonal vegetable production. In these sectors, over 60 per cent of seasonal workers were recruited through the seasonal workers' scheme in 2022, and producers experienced a 50 per cent fall in the return of EU settled or pre-settled status workers in 2022 compared to 2021. I've written repeatedly to UK ministerial counterparts to highlight those challenges for Scotland's food supply, but I've yet to see any meaningful engagement. I'm searching by Soella Braverman's speech earlier this week. It's hard to see how or when that might happen. We contacted the UK Government about our proposals for our rural migration pilot last year, an initiative that had been welcomed by the then Home Secretary, Sadiad Javid, but we've still not even received a response. But I am ever the optimist, and I acknowledge the commitments that had been made by the Prime Minister in the Farm to Fork summit that he hosted at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday of this week. However, it would have been nice to be invited, given the focus on matters of devolved competence, but I do welcome his focus, not least on standards and the trade priorities. We want the UK Government to secure coherent trade deals that are nuanced, protect vital yet sensitive agricultural producers and deliver that in line with our vision for trade. Of course, we need the rhetoric put into practice to avoid what former DEFRA Secretary George Eustace admitted that we did not actually need to give Australia nor New Zealand full liberalisation of beef and sheep. It was not in our economic interest to do so. It's therefore essential that the UK Government develops a coherent UK trade strategy, which directly addresses the link between trade, protecting domestic food production and food security. I hope that the constructive approach that was set out by the Prime Minister on Tuesday translates into that positive action and, of course, hard cash too. Funding to support food production now comes from Westminster. Since Brexit, the Tories have cut that and shown no willingness to agree a multi-annual funding framework as we had when we were in the EU. I'm just coming to my closing. I'm afraid that however much the Opposition tried to ignore the elephant in the room, securing a sustainable food supply for Scotland will always be more challenging outside of the EU than in it. This is a complex issue because we are part of a complex food system and we have to try to balance very different considerations to meet those short-term shocks as well as those long-term challenges, not least the climate and nature crisis. Recent challenges demonstrate the need for nuance, for government to work with sectors and industry to create the right environment in its widest sense to support our food supply. We need a healthy natural environment, a highly skilled motivated workforce and to be able to support farmers, crofters and land managers effectively. We need opportunities to create prosperity through profitable trade deals and more affordable and accessible ways for people to access high-quality food here at home. We need that technology, innovation and efficient distribution. Haulage is a vital part of the supply chain and I'm acutely aware of how important that sector is to our aim of a sustainable food supply for Scotland. Across the Scottish Government, cabinet secretaries and ministers will do all that they can to achieve this but it will always be with one hand tied behind our backs because only with independence will we have all the powers and levers we need to focus on the needs and interests of our population. Crucially, independence will allow us to undo the damage of Brexit, to remove the uncertainty and insecurity that it creates for our food producers, our manufacturers and our people, because Brexit demonstrates clearly that rejoining the EU at the earliest opportunity as an independent country represents the best future for Scotland and particularly for our food security. I therefore move the motion in my name. The warm words from the cabinet secretary are called comfort when they are not followed up with government action to help food producers, farmers, coastal communities and rural areas. Today, I will try to pick apart some of the glaring inconsistencies between the SNP's words and their actions. Then I will move to the positive steps that we could take as a Parliament to secure a sustainable food supply for Scotland. Unfortunately, their motion today has made it clear again that the SNP government is more interested in stoking division than doing anything positive to help rural communities. When the SNP government has nothing positive to say, outcome the excuses, every other sentence is attempting at creating grievance with the UK government, we hear the usual refrain that they don't have the powers they need despite this place being one of the most powerful devolved parliaments in the world. Minister's point, blame elsewhere. It's everybody else's fault except the SNP. It's the same old SNP story, but let me tell the cabinet secretary. Food producers, farmers and workers in Scotland's rural communities are tired of hearing this. They know that the SNP ministers are not acting for the benefit of rural Scotland. All they are doing is acting like they don't care about rural Scotland. The harsh reality is that this government sees farmers and fishermen as an inconvenience. They treat them with disdain, they ignore them and at no point can this government honestly claim to have put farmers, the fishing industry or the rural community first in any of its policymaking. The SNP government can try to claim it's focused on securing our food supply, all it likes, but the reality on the ground in rural areas is apparent and it's far different to the alternative reality the SNP government tries to present. I will just shortly. The inconsistencies between the Government's words and actions are crystal clear. They are not designed to support farmers' crofters, seafood workers and the agriculture sector or anyone in rural, coastal or island communities. I'm very grateful to Rachel Hamilton for giving way. What does Rachel Hamilton say to the National Farmers Union of Scotland's horticulture convener, Mr Ian Brown, who's commented on the fact that crops are rotting in the fields of our country because there aren't the workers to harvest those products and the Home Secretary's rhetoric is making the situation worse? I thank John Swinney for his intervention. The SNP needs to use the powers that they have. We've heard today from my colleague, Murdo Fraser, that there's more inward migration than ever and even the First Minister recognised that and said that we need to attract more people to Scotland to live and to work. We support that. What I would say to the First Minister is sort out the issues of depopulation, sort out the issues of not providing workers with rural housing and actually support the rural economy. The SNP talks about developing a sustainable food supply, then acts in a way that would wreck our food supply. We know one of the reasons why. The words today were spoken by the Cabinet Secretary but unfortunately the actions of the Government are dictated by an extremist Green Party. It seems to be their way or Home Secretary's majority hits the highway. Policies on food security are being drawn up by people here at Holyrood who have absolutely no understanding of farms fishing for any crucial elements of the rural economy. Ms Hamilton, thank you for using your seat. I would suggest that perhaps referring to members by their first name is not how we do proceedings in the Parliament. I apologise, I will call Humza Yousaf, the First Minister of Scotland. Let's take the most obvious example first. The SNP and Green parties protected marine area proposals that would ban fishing in large sections of Scotland seas. How exactly would it secure a sustainable food supply to reduce the amount of fish we catch right here on our shores and instead fly in costly imports from aboard? Before it was consumed our food would have flown more miles than the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution in an average week. Fishermen made their feelings very clear when they heckled the Cabinet Secretary for rural affairs last week and I hope she reflects on the strength of feeling she encountered. Then there is the apparent contradiction between the Government's talk of supporting island communities and the SNP's disastrous handling of the ferry building contracts. It might be 10 years before they finish vessel 801 or 802. At that time, islanders are facing cancellations and delays that are damaging businesses and ruining their way of life. The gap between SNP words and actions doesn't end there. The Government talk of producing more food locally but won't even consider gene editing which would keep food prices affordable while supporting farmers to earn a living. The Government opposition to gene editing isn't based on science or evidence, it's based solely on political and ideological grounds because the SNP want to comply with whatever the EU says. Maybe the most clear example of the SNP's confused rural policies is the fact that they keep trying to split up the country, creating a hard border with our biggest trading partners and ripping up the eternal market so much so that the success of the food production relies upon. Nothing would do more damage to Scotland's food security than separation from the rest of the United Kingdom. All of these examples demonstrate the issue that rural and coastal communities have with this SNP, the massive gulf between rhetoric and reality. The reality is that SNP policies will mean that Scottish people get higher food prices, reduced quality, less choice. We won't meet net serial targets since we will need to input more costly food from abroad and by contrast. I would like to thank Rachael Hamilton for taking an intervention. Do you think that 20 per cent of food inflation right now is acceptable? Jim Fairlie knows full well that food inflation has happened because of Putin's invasive attack on Ukraine, and there is no acknowledgement of that. By contrast, at the recent Scottish Conservative conference I launched a paper entitled Scotland's food future. Members, we need to listen to the person who has the floor. Thank you, Presiding Officer. How we can support farmers and agricultural workers to keep producing the high quality local food grown right here in Scotland for which we are highly renowned for our positive plans would bring in more local jobs in rural communities and keep food prices affordable as possible by giving farmers support. Scotland's food future proposals would also help to meet net zero climate change targets because the food that we support farmers to grow locally is better for the environment. It's vital that we focus on food security because it means that we'll have access to a wide, healthy range of first-class food without having to import, as I said, costly food from abroad. We also put forward plans for a Scottish genetic technology bill to help Scottish farmers and crofters to give them the ability to grow more food with the same land. Our plans would also create a rural investment bank to provide an alternative source of investment for innovative farmers and support the wider rural economy. We would also set a 60-60 target for local procurement so that mainland councils were required to look locally for the bulk of their food. All of those steps could be taken on by the Scottish Government. I urge them immediately to do that, Presiding Officer, because food security really matters. It doesn't matter to the SNP anywhere near as much as they claim it does. I've already moved it, haven't I? Thank you very much. The Scottish Government's motion is factually correct. However, we have some real concerns about its tone. It's complacent and it passes the buck. The Trussell Trust distributed 259,744 emergency food parcels in Scotland between first-rate April 22 and 31 March 23. That's over a quarter of a million and almost a third of them to families with children. That's the largest amount of food parcels that they've ever distributed, and it's a 30 per cent increase from the year before. Those statistics represent families unable to feed their children. They represent people desperate for food, people who will have their health and their life expectancy damaged because of poor nutrition. Can any one of us imagine what that must be like? To have to be so desperate for food, you need to go to a food bank. While the work of food banks is a lifeline and I pay tribute to the organisations and volunteers who provide this lifeline, it's dehumanising to be forced to depend on them. It's equally unacceptable that many of the people who do also work in industries providing the food that we eat. The Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union has surveyed their staff and a third depend on family and friends for food and 17 per cent have used food banks. Imagine working in a bakery smelling bread baking but going home to empty shelves and hungry children. The Scottish Government has levers to change this. The Scottish Government has promised a national plan for ending the need for food banks. They published the consultation responses in January 2022. At that time, they promised a final plan to end food banks that winter. It's still not been published. In the circumstances that we face, that's simply not good enough. They must urgently produce their plan to end the need for food banks in Scotland. They also had the opportunity during the passing of the Good Food Nation Act to enshrine the human right to food in our legislation but the SNP and green members voted it down. They also voted down the ability to empower the Scottish Food Commission to realise that ambition. That could have made a practical difference but yet they voted it down. We do agree with the motion that the Conservative Government should and be doing so much more. We also agree that Brexit has been deeply damaging but you can't turn the clock back and re-entry is not an option at this time. The SNP knows that but Brexit and independence are simply two sides of the one nationalists coin. To simply blame the UK Government without doing everything in its own power to change the stark situation that our citizens face is hypocritical. I'm grateful to Rhoda Grant for giving way. I wonder if she could explain why it's not a practical possibility to rejoin the EU just now. For one, I don't think that there would have us back but moving on, the Scottish Government could use procurement to make sure that people are paid the real living wage. They could insist that companies who they contract with pay at that level and also do not use zero hour contracts or subcontract with companies that do. That would with one sweep of a pen change low wage insecure work patterns that we see in Scotland. Practices that force workers to food banks. While we agree energy costs and the energy market fall to the UK Government, they have failed to use their own powers to protect the poorest in society. Energy usage is very much in the hands of the Scottish Government and the fastest way out of fuel poverty is to reduce energy usage. Yet the Scottish Government do not have a strategy to do this. They do offer insulation loans but those who live in fuel poverty who are dependent on food banks don't have the money to pay off loans. Instead the Scottish Government insists that any heating assistance is invested in heat pumps and they simply do not work in homes that are not well insulated. The Scottish Government also set a ceiling for Scotland wind licences for going billions of pounds and neither did the insistent community benefit. Had they, that money could have been used to provide low cost fuel for communities and funds to insulate homes. They could also use their procurement powers as well as agricultural subsidies to ensure that food is procured as locally as possible and sustainably as well. The carbon that is used to transport food long distances but it also sustains local farmers and crofters. With the powers that they do have they could make a huge difference to people's lives but they don't. I would like to thank Rhoda Grant for giving way. On that last point that he made about reducing food miles, if the Labour Party do get in the Government in the following years election, will you rescind the New Zealand and Australia trade deals? I would remind members that we need to speak through the chair. That is slightly above my pay grade because I am not standing for the UK Parliament and neither do I intend to next year. I will leave that to colleagues who are better placed to do those negotiations. I can turn very quickly to the other amendments. We support the Liberal Democrats amendment. They point to the importance of our season providing food security and rightly point out that this is undermined by the Scottish Government's HPMA plans. Conservative amendment appears to be taking a leaf out of the SNP Green Government playbook by being very self congratulated in the face of the grim reality faced by our citizens. While there are things in their amendment that would support, there are others that we cannot. They appear to blame the war in Ukraine for all our inflation problems and that's very clearly not the case. I cannot support their amendment. I move amendment 914.3. I speak to and move the amendment in my name. I too would like to commend and acknowledge the work of all food producers, whether working on land or sea and their contribution to Scotland's food and drink sector. The generations of fishing, crofting and farming families who are transitioning to newer ways of working and food production through innovation are all crucial players in Scotland's food industry and vital to the communities in which they work and live. They are the beating heart of rural and island communities and Scottish life. They care about the environment in which they work and seek to protect it. We are thankful to them and the others supporting our £15 billion food and drink industry. We know Scotland produces high quality nutritious food, whether for local consumption or for export, lamb, beef, salmon, seafood, vegetables and berries of all description and you can't mention Scottish food and drink without highlighting whisky and gin. My amendment covers several issues. Firstly, Brexit. Labour supply has been impacted across all aspects of Scotland, including shortages of agriculture workers to pick the fruit and veg, the lorry drivers to deliver the produce and in the hospitality sector where Scotland's produce should be at the top of the menu. Secondly, unreliable ferry services, as we have seen on the west coast. The failure to have a resilience service and an on-going programme of ferry replacement has cut islands off at times from not only the inward supply of food but the ability of island exports to reach mainland Scotland and be transported further afield. The financial impact is considerable but so too is the impact on people's wellbeing. On the northern Isles route freight capacity issues have been well documented for years with increasing seafood and salmon exports from Shetland, while the known pinch points in freight capacity around the autumn livestock sales seem to come as an annual surprise to Transport Scotland. Thirdly, the impact of Scottish Government's highly protected marine area policy proposals and how it could affect our fishing and aquaculture industries, which are so important to coastal and island communities around Scotland. Our fishing fleet and aquaculture sector play a crucial role in providing a sustainable, low-carbon, high-protein food source. Salmon is in demand across the world with exports to 54 countries in 2019. At a value of £618 million, a significant contribution to the Scottish economy. Muscle farmers rely on healthy, clean seas in which to grow shellfish. Growers obviously want to protect the marine environment to ensure that they have a sustainable business for the future. The muscle sector and two thirds of Scotland's muscles are growing passively around my constituency, with its low-carbon footprint form of food production has much to offer. What has been put to me is that the uncertainty and risk introduced by the HBMA proposals is harming companies' abilities to plan and invest even now. Without offshore sites, they cannot produce muscles, can't sell muscles and won't be able to generate sales. They ask, how can they invest if they may not have a future? Does she agree with me that it will potentially cause a second highland clearancing if the SNP brings in its anti-fishing bill? I think that those concerns have been well expressed in previous debate. There are already worries about spatial squeeze with the profusion of offshore wind farms which will create fishing note-take zones in all but name in the footprint in which they will stand, increasing pressures on the catching fleet. As I said in the chamber earlier this week, the HBMA proposals have united fishing and coastal communities who are anxious about the future of their livelihoods and the communities that they live in. Concerns over the proposals are already having a negative impact on businesses. The opposition is not to the need to protect the marine environment and address biodiversity loss and the climate emergency. Rather, it is in the way in which the policy was developed before engaging with those who make their living from the sea and the communities that depend on them, the very people who produce food for Scotland. Those communities include the wider supply chain on which they are all interdependent, the processors, the hauliers, marine engineers, net makers, feed suppliers, the electricians repairing the fishing boat, the crofter that is also a fisherman and might also deliver the post. Communities that are viable because of fishing, aquaculture farming, that keep working-age families there, that keep the school roll-up and the local shop open in often fragile areas. That diversity with tradition, heritage and innovation is a huge part of what Scotland is and we all should be doing what we can to support it and work together. I am pleased that, at least at this point, we have a bit of time in hand, should members be minded to seek and take interventions. With that, I would call John Swinney to be followed by Brian Whittle. One of the many privileges involved in representing the beautiful constituency of Perthshire North is the opportunity to appreciate and value the enormous contribution of the various communities and sectors to the production and the promotion of food in Scotland. My constituency contributes a formidable proportion of the potatoes, cereals and vegetables grown in Scotland, the exquisite soft fruit that is synonymous with East Perthshire and the high-quality beef and lamb that is nurtured with care, invariably on the hill farms of Highland Perthshire, Strathardall and Glenshee. The strength of this activity contributes to the very highest quality offering within the tourism, hospitality and food production sectors of our economy. That can range across the work of the drinks industry in whisky, gin and in new spirits based on traditional foraged crops, pioneered by Highland Boundary on Aileth Hill, or the diversification success stories of Stuart Tower Ice Cream Dairy, or the outstanding research work of organisations such as the James Hutton Institute based at Invergowrie, who recently became one of the first recipients of a King's Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development, or intelligent growth solutions again at the GHI who have developed important work on vertical farming, which is becoming one of Scotland's enormous export success stories. There is much to be proud of and much to celebrate in the contribution of my constituency to food production in Scotland and I want to see that continue and to thrive. I know that the Cabinet Secretary and the Scottish Government share that aspiration and are committed to working with the industry to address the twin challenges of the climate emergency and the development of an agricultural support regime after the Brexit process. I am sure that the decisions that the Cabinet Secretary has taken to proceed with this work in partnership with the agricultural sector through jointly chairing the process with my constituent, the President of the National Farmers Union in Scotland, Martin Kennedy, will ensure that focus on sustainability will be central to the decision making that is involved. When he mentions Martin Kennedy, President of the NFUS, he has called for a return of the £33 million allocated from the review and swiped from the rural budget when John Swinney was finance secretary. Can I ask John Swinney where is that and when it will be returned? Rachael Hamilton knows full well that those resources had to be deployed to assist in balancing the budget in the last financial year because of the hyperinflation created by the actions of the Conservative Government and its mini-budget last September. The commitment was given by ministers at that time. I am no longer a serving minister in the Scottish Government but, as far as I am aware, that money will be inserted into the budgets in due course when the requirement is there for it to be paid. I do not really think that Rachael Hamilton should be going around the country spreading scare stories in the fashion that she has just done so today. Despite that willingness to engage in dialogue, it is necessary to recognise that there are many threats and challenges to be addressed in ensuring sustainable food production in Scotland. I want to concentrate on two of them—the cost of production and the availability of labour. In preparing for this debate, I asked a number of my farming constituents for information on the costs with which they are wrestling. Fertiliser costs have risen by 2 to 300 per cent. Electricity costs have often risen by the same margin for essential refrigeration activity to sustain crops. In some cases, individual businesses are having to find an extra £50,000 or £100,000 to meet just the cost of increased electricity. Some of those cost pressures are a consequence of global events, especially the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Some are a direct result of the policy disasters that have been Brexit and the UK mini-budget last September. Brexit has made the cost of trading increase with our nearest partners and placed obstacles in their way, especially in key and valuable markets such as seed potatoes. As the former DEFRA Secretary George Eustace told us all, replacement trade deals have disadvantaged agriculture. The mini-budget last September has created the most difficult investment climate due to the increased cost of borrowing arising out of those catastrophic policy errors. The punishing effect of this folly is being felt by consumers, many now facing unprecedented hardship, as Rhoda Grant has talked about, in putting food on their tables in 21st century Scotland. Of course, the Scottish Conservatives have supported both of those acts of spectacular folly Brexit and the UK mini-budget last September. I'm very grateful to Mrs Rennie for giving me a panel for you to remember that pre-Brexit did a survey of where all our food came from in the public sector through schools, hospitals and government buildings. That highlighted that a lot of our root vegetables, dairy produce and meat were imported from the EU. I wonder what your constituent farmers would consider when only 16 per cent of the central excel contract was actually fulfilled by Scottish produce. The problem that my constituents now have, which I'm just about to come on to, is that they cannot find the Labour to pick the vegetables from the fields. That is a consequence of the stupid Brexit policy that the Conservative Party in this Parliament has supported. That is my second point about crops not being picked and high-quality food going to waste at a time when many consumers are struggling to feed their families, all because of the ideological obsession of the Conservatives. The position just gets worse with the hostile comments of the Home Secretary, which show a devastating escalation of the obstructiveness of the UK Government. I know that Parliament will be sceptical about those comments from me. I suggest that they listen to the NFU Scotland's horticulture chair Ian Brown, a soft fruit and vegetable grower from Fife. That is what Mr Brown said. The Home Secretary's comments about training and recruiting a local workforce to pick our crops shows a significant degree of naivety over the reality of the current situation. In recent times, the Home Office has consistently failed to understand the challenges that the industry faces around sourcing labour. Mr Brown goes on. We need migrants to get the food that is grown on our farms onto our plates and not rotting in our fields. We need the Government to move away from anti-migration politics and rhetoric to make good policy. Blunt words from the farming sector about the obstacles that they face. I encourage the Cabinet Secretary and the Scottish Government to continue its engagement with the sector and to press the UK Government to move away from its disastrous positioning on migration and on Brexit. If not, there will be real threats to the sustainability of food production in this country and the responsibility will lie fair and square at the feet of the Conservative Party. I'm delighted to be speaking in this hugely important debate on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives. As most of the chamber will know, this is a topic that I have particular interest in and have spoken on in many times to hear. I had hoped to have a constructive debate because I know that the Cabinet Secretary can also have a pragmatic approach to this topic and we have had many constructive conversations in the past. However, surely the fact that Mary Goose has to stand up in this chamber and defend what is the most ridiculous motion from the Government must leave her embarrassed. All the things that we could have discussed, all the actions that we could take in this Parliament to positively address this issue, many of which I know the Cabinet Secretary's supports have been swept away under the SNP green mantra of not our fault gov. The green-driven Government agenda far from improving our food security is making it increasingly difficult for our food producers to continue. According to the noisy minority, farms need to decarbonise, they need to stop producing as much beef, they need to plant more trees, they must diversify all with a lack of support, of course, from this Government. I met with the agritourism sector this week and I have to say the only politician from five that turned up to listen to them and answer their questions, by the way, and a wonderful visit it was to. The retail value of agritourism has increased by almost 50 million in the last year rising to over 110 million. They are such an enthusiastic and resilient bunch, taking the blows landed on them by the Scottish Government, getting back up and finding a way to keep developing. However, some farmers have been forced into diversification to make ends meet because simply producing food is not good enough anymore. Those are the people who produce our food, Deputy Prime Minister. Farmers have been left to their own to sort out their local food chains. Smaller businesses find it hard to access public procurement and have little guidance on how to establish co-operatives. Does Brian Whittle understand that farmers have been diversifying for as long as they have been farming? Yes, I do understand that and what a wonderful bunch they are, despite the policies of this Government. I was told by those in the room that it feels like there are no policy or financial support for agritourism from the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government should be promoting agritourism to advertise the value of local food chains in Scottish rural businesses. I will give way to the cabinet secretary if she will reply directly to the agritourism people. That is exactly why I wanted to stand up and give an intervention because I am really sorry to hear that and that is the feedback that you have had. I would ask that you recognise that we have contributed to ensure that we can run more agritourism monitor farms absolutely in recognition of how important agritourism is. I also co-chair a board with Caroline Miller because we want to see agritourism grow in Scotland and that is why we have made the financial commitment to do that. One of the things that they raised was planning policy to develop predominantly by urban areas, by urban MSPs. It is too stringent, too slow, too bureaucratic, with some policies not even fit for rural areas, preventing diversification and development of the rural economy. Given the SNP's green's vilification of our farmers, perhaps a solution would be to eat more fish. Wait a minute, apparently the SNP coalition has decided that our fishermen have to stop catching fish and they have to develop better methods of protecting the environment that they have to innovate. Again, the Scottish Government is not going to help them. In fact, the SNP's green Government has decided that HPMAs will be imposed on 10 per cent of our seas, but they will not tell you where that will happen or where that percentage came from. Of course, there is no scientific evidence or data to back this policy up according to the Cabinet Secretary herself and an answer to the question in this chamber. Retrospectively, they then do a consultation and wonder why coastal communities are up in arms and why fishing communities are so universally against this policy. After introducing all of those anti-food producing policies from predominantly urban-based politicians, they seem surprised that this kind of cack-handed way of treating our food producers is so unpopular. How does the Scottish Government expect the sector to invest in their businesses and how can they not recognise the impact on recruitment and retention that this uncertainty or this policy brings? It is as long as it is with the Scottish Government, I have forgotten that we actually need to eat food. The more pressure they put on our food producing sector, the more it will disappear, requiring more and more of our food to be imported, which is exactly the opposite of food security. The Greens are a one-dimensional, ideologically driven bunch with no grip on reality. I do not know what colour the sky is on their planet, but it is definitely not green. Their policies, far from delivering a more sustainable economy, are actually adding to the climate emergency, and they have this delusion of adequacy. The SNP is blindly following them in for the sake of the Bute House agreement. Let's talk about food security. Let's consider the difference that it would make if we focused on real policies that would have a real impact. How about the fact that we waste a third of our food? If food waste was a country, it would be the third biggest greenhouse gas emitter after China and the USA. It takes an eye at the size of China to produce the food that we throw away. Let's consider that in terms of the increasing squeeze on land use and Scottish Government policy, specifically putting our food producers' land under pressure. How about reducing transport miles for their food undergoes? I have spoken about this since I entered this place. Public procurement of our food, making sure that our fantastic quality of produce we get from our farmers and fishermen and women make its way into our school meals, into our hospitals and into every other Government building, would reduce greenhouse gases considerably, contribute to the reduction in road miles on other of the Scottish Government targets without a route map, get our pupils used to eating local produce, supporting our food producers, improving our poor health record. That joined up thinking. What about recognising that the sea is three-dimensional and we can use the surface area for certain industries such as floating wind, but also use the depth for seaweed farming, creating reefs and seagrass plantations that act as fish nurseries as well as carbon sequestration areas? There's no need for Government to impose HPMAs joined up three-dimensional thinking, yet instead of thinking outside the box, encouraging and rewarding innovative solutions already deployed by our food producers, solutions that would directly tackle food security all the while supporting a rural economy, impacting on the health of our nation, encouraging more pupils to consider a career in the rural economy. The cabinet secretary finds herself in a position of having to defend the Scottish Government amendment that is content to wash its hands of any responsibility and blame the UK Government, the food producers, anywhere else that means they do not have to take any positive action. SNP policy has been dictated by the Green Party who live in a dreamland, a Green Party who are the least green of any Green Party on this planet. It's time to start being a Government and realise you actually have to deliver some policies. Thank you, Mr Whittle, and I now call Co-Cab Stewart to be followed by Richard Leonard. Climate change and global population growth are often cited as a major challenge as we face in ensuring that our food supply is sustainable. On the climate crisis, Africa remains the most affected with rainfall, increasing by about 30 per cent in wet regions and decreasing by 20 per cent in dry regions. A potent formula for failing crops in agriculture, Africa is a continent that has seen an overall 34 per cent drop in agricultural productivity due to climate change to date, according to the United Nations. However, it is not just on moral grounds that this should worry us. We import fruits, vegetables, coffee, chocolate—I will. We absolutely appreciate the effects that climate change is having on rainfall and droughts. Will the member not agree with me that when we have the opportunity, through gene editing, to produce potatoes and crops that are far more resilient to droughts and floods, that that would be something that we could provide that technology to the global south to help mitigate those circumstances? I thank the member for bringing that up, and I remember the debate that was led by Stephen Kerr on gene editing and potatoes and lemons, I believe, at the time. I will continue, and I will come back to that. We import fruits, vegetables, coffee, chocolate, fish, fish, fish, beef and nuts to name but a few from Africa. That, at a time when the United Nations predicts that the global population will increase to £9.7 billion by 2050, and as a reminder, we are in 2023 and that is only 27 years away, some of us will be around for that. We are faced with more people and less food to feed everyone. We must sustain a healthy earth so that our earth can sustain a healthy us. Added to the challenges that we face in food security across Scotland and the rest of the UK, of course my colleagues have mentioned is a hard Brexit that we didn't vote for and we don't want. The Centre for Economic Performance has confirmed Brexit has caused the cost of EU food imports to have increased by 6 per cent over just a two-year period, and this is in addition to global events that have caused many commodities to skyrocket in price. If we are having a serious discussion about future food sustainability, then aligning ourselves much more closely to our European neighbours, breaking down trade barriers and reversing Brexit must always remain on the table. There are lessons that we can learn from our European partners too. Their European Green Deal has a Farm to Fork strategy at the centre of it, like Scotland's good food nation approach. It is conscious that food sustainability is tackling climate change and tackling climate change is promoting good food sustainability. Importing and exporting food and drink is our country's past, present and future, but, importantly, we must change our attitudes about where our food comes from. The nearer the farm is to your fork is by far the most sustainable way of keeping our nation fed. Previously, as a teacher, you would expect me to say that I firmly believe that education is the key to making healthy and sustainable choices when it comes to their food, Presiding Officer. This is true when people understand where their food comes from and when they develop an affinity with it, they make healthier choices about their consumption. I wonder if she would agree with me. I am sure that we can have a point of consensus here that what we should be looking at is a public procurement process that does exactly that and tries to replicate what happens in East Ayrshire, which is over 75 per cent of the food in schools that comes from the local area. I would always agree with that. I think that the more we invest in our local producers, the better. Making healthier choices about their consumption. Every single member of this place would have grown up being taught about where their food comes from. Whether that be through rhymes such as Old MacDonald and his farm, from Little Bo Peep, who obviously lost her sheep, or Mary with her little lamb, and let's not forget my favourite, the jelly pieces. Unless young adults choose to pursue courses in home economics, hospitality or nutrition, our education around food does seem to come to somewhat of a stop after second year in high school. In adult life it is harder to make healthier and more sustainable food choices, particularly when the opposite is the more affordable option and in a cost of living crisis that is a bit of an outrage. But healthier and more sustainable choices we must make and making better choices doesn't stop at what we're buying and eating but also about how much we're wasting. Last week I raised the, if I have time, Presiding Officer. Well, a very, very brief intervention, Mr Kerr. Thank you, Cookab Stewart, for giving away. Does she agree, then, her early comments about food education, food science and basically the ability to cook for oneself? Does she agree that that's something that she could be continued all the way through into senior phase so that our young people can leave school with a self-reliance that sadly we lack at the moment? Cookab Stewart. I absolutely agree with that. It was a shame before many years ago I remember Conservative and Labour Governments that undermined and took away sort of like kitchen facilities in schools and maybe that's something we can look at reinstating. Last week I did raise the importance of farmers markets in nurturing people's relationships with food, particularly for people who live in urban settings and it's a direct link to where the bulk of our homegrown food comes from. Woodlands community garden, in my constituency, provides locals the ability to grow crops and enjoy that food together, communally, as a community. I've spoken with a number of businesses, particularly hospitality businesses, who have advocated for the use of urban allotments which would be transformational for our growing communities. I also took part in an event during COP26 at Woodlands community garden. Delegates from Ghana told me how urgently they viewed the situation around climate change. One of the delegates said, everyone's talking about climate change action for the future but this is our present right now. Even food grown in Scotland has started to face volatility. Low river water levels last year threatened crops and searing temperatures that we saw during the summer were clearly having an impact. That's why I'll bring it back to this. We can talk about the food that we import from all corners of the globe grown on our doorstep but if we don't slow down, if we don't stop and if we don't reverse the impacts of climate change, we're not living in a world where our food is sustainable. As I conclude, we are very ability to eat, relies on us, taking action, action to tackle that climate change and delivering on our net zero obligations, action to ensure that retailers and producers and our schools educate all our children and action to support our local farmers and producers. I now call on Richard Leonard to be followed by Jim Fairlake. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. It is right that at this time we are debating food security and sustainability in this Parliament and it is right that we are scrutinising the commerce of our food supply and the economics of food poverty. But we have to scrutinise the politics of food security, the politics of food supply and the politics of food poverty too because everywhere you look in our food production chain we find injustice and inequality. From the top 1% of farm owners in Scotland accumulating 10% of all farming support or as the RSPB's analysis shows the top 20% picking up almost two thirds, 62% of Scottish Government farming support, too much public money is going into the private pockets of Scotland's already wealthy corporations and owners and not nearly enough is going to give a helping hand to our tenant farmers and small holders, to our crofters and farm labourers. And the same is true of the grant and investment schemes for forestry where we are also witnessing the rapid emergence of speculative finance capital interests shamelessly, shamelessly hoovering up public money so fast that the market for carbon credits is becoming a racket. Instead of stepping in to help the speculators to extract wealth and opportunity from our local communities, the Scottish Government should be stepping up to give those local communities access to land for food production. And then there are the tax reliefs and the tax exemptions for farm owners, relief from fuel duty on red diesel, exempt from VAT, agricultural land and buildings, exempt from business rates, special exemptions on capital gains and inheritance tax and again all benefiting most the richest owners of the biggest agriculture and agricultural holdings and estates, the ones who need it least. And I'll tell you what will happen in this rigged economy. As farm input prices rise, agri-inflation is at 18.7%, those farmers facing uncertainty will go out of business or be simply bought up by the bigger, more powerful interest with the result that instead of having a flourishing, diverse rural economy, we will have a widening gap between the rural working poor and the all too often absentee idle rich. And then there are the agribusinesses. So yes of course yields have gone up exponentially over the years but so have the profits of the fertiliser and pesticide manufacturers, the animal feed suppliers and the oil and gas companies. And in stark contrast, have a look at the chilling report published just last week entitled Food Workers on the Breadline by the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union, which once again surveyed its members and found that more food workers are relying on food banks, that more than half say they are worried about running out of food. Two thirds say their wages are insufficient to feed themselves and their family with good food. As the report concludes, I quote, the people who grow, distribute and supply our food are often unable to purchase the very food they produce. It's like we are living back in the depression era novel The Grapes of Wrath, where John Steinbeck wrote of the children of farm workers, the children of fruit cannery workers. Dying of pelagra, he wrote, who must die of malnutrition because food must be forced to rot because a profit cannot be taken. The line, the line he presciently warned between hunger and anger is a thin line and let me repeat that warning today because the line between hunger and anger is still a thin line. I'm glad that the government wants a sustainable food supply for Scotland and I agree with the National Farmers Union when they say that the idea that we can just import our food must be exposed as naive in the extreme, although I fear that too many cabinet secretaries and ministers in this and the UK government still believe in the credo of free trade and still cling on to the theory of comparative advantage when we should be investing in an import substitution strategy when if we want a sustainable food supply we need to invest in the food industry's workers. Where is the minimum £15 an hour wage for the undervalued low-paid food production workers which their unions are demanding? We have a good food nation act which speaks to local food plans but where are they? When will we get to the day when food security and nutrition is a basic human right which we meet? When will we reach an understanding that food security and net zero are not competing demands that we cannot have one without the other? Of course the change that we need will be conditional on a redistribution of wealth and power not in the direction it is going at the moment which is the wrong direction but in the right direction from those according to their means to those according to their need. It will rest upon the conviction that to win sustainability and security we need to win greater democracy and the conviction that it is not only our food, it is our land as well. Today's motion securing sustainable food supply for Scotland got me thinking. Do we not all have a role to play in securing this? I mean every man, woman and child in the country because we all need to eat every single day. Every school, college and nursery, every farmer, crofter and a horticurtialist, every farmer, crofter and a horticurtialist. Every hospital or care setting, this place, caterers and without any doubt whatsoever, the major supermarkets and retailers who dominate 90 per cent of the grocery sales in this country. With that in mind I thought I tried a different approach today and find areas where we can agree on and actually celebrate some of the real positives we currently have in our communities. I've got a list of the many allotment and urban growing spaces in mine and John Swinney's constituencies and it demonstrates the desire for so many people to have their own growing spaces. Twenty years ago they couldn't have given these plots away. Last night I attended a CPG on food where we talked about dietary health inequalities, especially in the areas of deprivation. As I've already said, there is fabulous work going on all around the country where small groups of mainly volunteers are doing things to educate, to grow and to make fabulous food-based initiatives. One of my constituencies I've cited before is the Cymru primary school, where the kids are taught to make soup and they then go outside and enjoy it during an outside learning session. They've also now established bread education under the guiding hand of John Castley from the Wildheart Bakery, where they grow heritage wheat, they harvest it, they mill it, then they go into the kitchen and they bake bread. This is a fabulous initiative, but it's not some middle-class privilege thing. This is the kind of basic life skills and appreciation of our food source that we should continue to encourage folk to adopt as the culture for all our education settings. There are growing initiatives in urban Scotland as well, through the growing food together initiative, with urban spaces turned over to grow food, all the way from Aberdeen to the Borders, taking up the opportunity of Scottish Government funding. It never ceases to amaze me what a few dedicated and determined individuals can achieve when they set their minds to it and these people can really help to shift and change that culture. So there's no doubt that this Government, sorry, there is no doubt it's for government to direct the national food policy, but it's also up to us as a society to take that collective responsibility, to rebuild the connections with our farmers and growers and producers and vice versa so that we change our cultural societal attitude to food and what is important is to our communities, both urban and rural, to our local environment and to our overall personal health. So I'll accept that the issues I am citing are small scale and will not ever be the panacea to food resilience. What they demonstrate is that our culture is moving in the right direction and it amazes me that folk in my children's age group now take for granted that they can go to a farmers market to get local food. Remember markets didn't exist in Scotland in 1999. Farm shops are a staple normal source of local food 20 years ago, they were regarded as a special day out and not somewhere just to pop out and get food. Richard Lochhead's 2007 national food and drink policy for Scotland was a major turning point on our journey as a good food nation. James Wethers' quote was, if we want to be seen as a good food nation we actually have to be a good food nation and he was absolutely spot on. This government's record over many years has proven that we are indeed committed to being the good food nation that we want to be. My point is this, securing sustainability for us all is our aim, but it's not something just to be given to us by the government. It's a cultural societal thing, it's for our own personal, physical and mental health and it's our contribution to helping our environment recover and flourish. By having that buying from the public means that our policy will be far more rarely accepted when the public are ready to go with us. I thank Jim Fairlie for taking the intervention. He talks about policies, Presiding Officer, but the policy and the recommendations of the suckle beef climate change group were delivered in 2021, I believe. Now that's two years on, two years on that we could have made progress to delivering carbon neutral beef as other countries have done. Fergus Ewing was right behind that. Does he not think that the government needs to get on with this so that we can bring the public along with us too? Jim Fairlie. Rachael Hamilton is well aware that we are about to start the scrutiny of the bill, so I don't know where she is going with that. Despite some of the political rhetoric that comes from the seats in the Tory party, I'm sure that they realise that the Scottish Government have got an enviable track record of being good partners for the Scottish farming and fishing sectors, working in collaboration with them to deliver policies that will allow help them to produce the food that we need to be sustainable and tackle our climate and biodiversity challenges. Never was that level of trust in collaboration needed more now than with Virladdmi, a putin reminding in the world that only takes one deranged ideologue to upset the balance of food security internationally, so ensuring our domestic supplies are robust is absolutely essential. To that end, I broadly welcome Rishi Sunak's food summit that he held in Downing Street this week. That is indeed a welcome change of UK Government direction, but in the spirit of collaboration that we are constantly reminded by all other sections of this panel, I do wonder why our Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs did not receive an invitation to attend from the Prime Minister to such an important conference while we currently develop the policy that will help shape agriculture and security in Scotland for years to come. The member will need to be concluding his remarks. I hardly demonstrate his willingness to work with respect for the devolved Administrations-elected offices of this Parliament. I genuinely like to offer the Tories, particularly Douglas Ross, who has once again written to farmers in my constituency that he will be their voice. I genuinely like to offer them who know what I am saying is correct the opportunity of this debate to put the play to the Westminster masters that gives certainty to the security of multi-year funding for the industry that was guaranteed from the EU and not be hanging on without knowing if funding will be made post 2025 from the UK Government. I say this because we can build the best policy in Scotland that Scotland has ever seen. We can tick every box, we can cover every angle, but if we do not get at least the current level of guaranteed annual funding beyond 2025 from the UK Government, the policies or practices that we try to deliver here will come to absolutely nothing and the resilience that we all say that we want will vanish. Thank you, Mr Fairlie. I now call on Oliver Mundell to be followed by Sarah Boyack. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Another productive day, I would say, maybe afternoon, would be more accurate, at least for our food producers. Farmers and fishers are busy toiling to keep us fed and to fuel our rural economy. I'm not so sure the same can be said about us. Here, in Scotland's national parliament, we go through the motions, literally the same old motions, with little to show for it. Scotland's rural and coastal communities have been poorly served in the devolution era with decision making and decision makers even more remote than ever. Unlike some members, I'm not keen on quoting US founding fathers or Greek philosophers, but it is often said that people get the government or politicians they deserve. Sadly, this is not the case, nor true for our farmers or fishers, and in the case of my constituents, we've got a government they didn't vote for. Indeed, if our farmers operated to the standard of productivity that our government does, we'd all be very hungry. They don't need a task force or a working group to get on with it. They make the best of what they have. They do complain—my inbox testifies to that—but not nearly enough, in my opinion, because there is no doubt that endless dithering, delay and denial of accountability by this Government here in Scotland do cost them and make a difficult job harder. I've said it before, but it is worth repeating. Jim Fairlie enjoyed it so much the first time. Scotland's farmers are the beating heart, not just of our rural economy but our way of life. They are central to food security and provide the one energy source we cannot live without. They are the champions of our natural landscape and the true custodians of our environment. As I said before, the good news is that Scotland's farmers are up for the challenge, certainly. Jim Fairlie? I have been listening closely and thinking about the things that you are saying. You are talking about all the things that the Scottish Government hasn't done. Do you think that what the UK Government has done with the trade deals with New Zealand and Australia has been good for Scottish farming? We need to speak through the chair. That demonstrates exactly the point that I was making. It is the very same intervention that Jim Fairlie made the last time I speak. As I said last time, there are advantages to Scottish farmers in the New Zealand and Australia trade deal with whisky tariffs coming down. As far as I was aware, a significant amount of grain was produced in Scotland that goes into those products. If we sell more of them, there will be more opportunities for Scotland's farmers. The SNP is so interested in self-isolation that they want to put up yet another border with our biggest trading partner and bar the most important market for our farmers. It is laughable. That is why we know that the Scottish Government is not really behind our farmers. Being no doubt, they will find a way to survive, to manage and overcome the challenges that they face. That should not be enough for us. In a country with as many opportunities and the agricultural potential of Scotland, we should be looking for our farmers to thrive, not talking them down and using them as a political football. Farmers should be the SNP's first partners when it comes to driving change and aspiration for rural Scotland. Sadly, that is not the case. In their seats, in this Government, sit the so-called Greens, whose answer to everything in the countryside is to ban it. I was probably unfair the last time I spoke on this issue because it was discourteous to ask the Greens how they eat a sick caspus when they were not here to tell us. Obviously, it would involve leaving the comfort of their Edinburgh wine bars, but I have many farmers in Dumfrieshire who would be very happy to host them for a demonstration. Not the kind where you hold up a banner, shout or glue yourself to a cow. What they are looking for is for those in power, in ministerial office, to face up to the reality of what their policies mean on the ground. As good agricultural land in my constituency gets carpeted in commercial forestry with no balance or thought to local communities, let alone our ability to feed ourselves as a nation, the many excuses and diversions in the Government motion ring hollow. The myth that somehow Westminster or Brexit is to blame for all the struggles in our rural sector. Very briefly, please, Ms MacDonald. I wonder what the member thinks about Save British Farming, what he said yesterday. When he said, farming is the sacrificial lamb of Brexit. We are the best trade deal in the world in the EU. Brexit torts trade. British Farming is on its knees. That was yesterday. I recognise that there are challenges for farmers and that is one of them. I do not accept from those sitting on the SNP benches, including the former Deputy First Minister, who I used to think was a serious politician before he has transitioned to backbench flunky, when he tries to suggest that the biggest challenge when it comes to food inflation are actions from the UK Government, when it is well known that there is high food inflation across the rest of the UK. I am dealing with the last intervention, but if there is time... There is not any time in hand. When I say to the other member who originally intervened, I am not going to take lectures on leaving the EU from a party that is so wedded to the EU that when opportunities like gene editing come up, they will not even listen to the EU's own advice. Normally, I take lectures from urban MSPs who tell me that leaving the EU has been universally bad for our farmers, when farmers in my constituency are pleased to see their ELFAS payments restored. Our coastal communities and our rural communities know that the Brexit and Westminster myth is exactly that. They have lived through this urban central belt, anti-country-sized government's attacks on their way of life every day. They see how fishing and farming are under attack. They see the fall in populations, no housing, poor infrastructure, rural clearances by stealth and design. They do not appreciate motions like today that suggest that the problem lies somewhere else. Before I call the next speaker, I would just advise members that we have used up all the time in hand that we had and that any intervention should be absorbed within the member's contribution. I call Sarah Boyack to be followed by Arianne Burgess. Thanks for the warning, Presiding Officer. I think that it is unacceptable that in the 20th century, 21st century, we have got... Sorry, I couldn't hear people at the back. I'm sorry, Ms Boyack. Sorry, I was interrupted by Peter Sharkey. Members, could you please listen to the member who has the floor? It's unacceptable that in the 21st century Scotland we've got a fantastic resource of food, but we have got people living in poverty. The cost of living crisis that members across the chamber have talked about today is making people's lives even worse. There's a cruel irony that many of those who help produce our food are living in food poverty themselves, and those points were made very powerfully by Rhoda Grant and Richard Leonard. We've got to think about how our food is produced in Scotland. We need to ensure that those who produce our food from the farmers to the workers to people who work in factories actually get a fair deal and that people's work is valued. They get decent terms conditions and that that's right across our food sector. It's also important because we've mostly talked about food in Scotland, but I want to highlight the fair trademark, which is utterly important globally in terms of the standards and decent pay that people who make food that we use from developing countries get paid as well. We need to think about the people that produce our food. We also need to make sure that our food is produced in such a way that it respects high animal welfare standards, natural resources and supports our environment. Scottish Labour is clear that we want to support the sustainability of the sector, because if you look at it, we've got 39,000 jobs in the food sector in Scotland in food and drink manufacturing and that indirectly supports 300,000 jobs. Those are key jobs for our communities and we need to maximise the use of public sector procurement. I've really disappointed that in our opening remarks the Cabinet Secretary didn't mention procurement because it's a key way that we can support our food sector in Scotland. It can relate to the standards of food, the environmental impact of production and it can also maximise supply chains for local food producers, enable them to focus on quality food production, healthy food production for all of us but also to give them the opportunity to know that they can plan ahead. The public sector, I'll take a brief point from Brian Whittle. I'm very grateful for giving away. We should also agree with me and recognise that there's a huge irony here that one of the key things we have to tackle is food waste. When we're talking about this, a third of our food is wasted. Absolutely. I was going to weave that in towards the end of my comments. Let's introduce it into the procurement sector as well. Public sector could be critical both in buying food, influencing attitudes about food waste but also thinking about how to avoid food waste because it's unacceptable and it's got environmental impact but there's something just wrong about throwing away food when people are starving. So we need to see a strategic approach and I think we also make sure that we maximise that purchasing power we have in the public sector in Scotland and then influence the private sector at the same time to make sure that money that's spent on food is spent well. I'm also very keen that we support agri-tourism. It's been mentioned in this debate. It's an opportunity for us to market our fantastic produce in Scotland to those who are visiting Scotland and we mustn't miss that opportunity. Personally, I'm looking forward to getting up at the crack of dawn to what the Craigies farm in my constituency to see what they're doing. We need a strategic approach and we need to make sure that we deliver the best value for food production and our environment. That means a focus on supporting those who are farming to make sure that they're able to meet our nature and climate standards and to make sure that they are themselves able to be resilient, adapt, mitigate to address the future climate and economic changes that are coming. And an adaptation strategy is absolutely critical and we need to see that as a high level issue particularly in terms of land use and farming from the Scottish Government. If you look at the stats in 2017-18 alone extreme weather contributed to losses of £161 million in the farming sector and soil erosion is established to cost about £50 million a year so we need to be looking at supporting our natural environment and food has got to be a part of that joined up approach. So we need not just good words, not just talking about the ambition but actually talking about how we deliver in practice and I think that's our opportunity coming out of this debate today. We passed a good food nation bill last year but we need to address food poverty now. A quarter of children in Scotland are living in food poverty and 69 per cent of those kids live in working households so we need to join up those inequalities and social injustice and I think there were some good points made from colleagues across the chamber. The most affluent and the worst off in our communities are the highest gap in terms of life expectancy since 1997 so we really need action. One of the ironies I think in the cabinet secretary's speech was that she did mention energy powers but didn't talk about what much more the Scottish Government could do to maximise community benefits in our rural areas and also the Scotland failure where we failed to actually deliver the opportunities economically and the fact that we still don't have the publicly-owned energy company promised so there's more action that we need and I think also focusing on what our communities are doing giving them more support. Food banks, none of us want food banks. Those that provide food banks don't want to have to provide them. They do a fantastic job but last year there was a 25 per cent increase in those using them for the first time. I need to conclude. Let me just mention community food growing. I am going to ask you to include it at this point because we are out of time. Let's make sure that's part of the strategy too. Thank you. I call Arian Burgess to be followed by Emma Harper. Thank you Presiding Officer. Thanks to the cabinet secretary for setting out how the Scottish Government is working to increase sustainability in the food system and food security in Scotland. I'd like to expand on the concept of food security and add to the mix food sovereignty. Building food sovereignty can boost food security and the sustainability of our food system at the same time. Food sovereignty is built upon six pillars. Food for people, value food producers, localise food systems, put control locally, build knowledge and skills and work with nature. I'll take each in turn. Food for people means a few things. Everyone has sufficient, healthy and culturally appropriate food. That's why the Scottish Government and Greens are bringing forward a right to food in the forthcoming human rights bill. Food for people also means shortening the chain between food sources and people's plates using resources efficiently to provide more food with less environmental impact. That means supporting farmers who want to grow food for people over crops instead of livestock and alcohol. It means putting venison larders in place so that the sustainable meat can be processed locally, and it means eating more wild-caught fish from sustainably managed Scottish fisheries instead of importing fish to feed farm salmon. I'm not going to take any interventions because we've been told we're tight on time. The second pillar is valuing food providers. Those who work on our land, on the coast or at sea to provide food for the nation are some of our most vital key workers who need to be supported, but their livelihoods are undermined by post-break trade deals made by Westminster that encourage imports of food produced to lower standards. While low impact fishers who are rooted in their communities are being squeezed out not by the call for fish nurseries that will make fish more abundant, but by the trawl and dredge businesses that put profit over people and currently are railing against the visa changes that will protect their workers from exploitation. We should support food providers. We should put pressure on supermarkets to give them a fair price for their product. We should invest in other ways for farmers to get their food to markets such as community-supported agriculture and local authority procurement and we must incentivise and support providers to produce food as sustainably as possible. Many farmers and crofters are already producing food through nature-friendly farming, but big changes are coming as diets change, and the climate crisis becomes ever more urgent. We must design the farm payment framework to accelerate the necessary changes in land use and land management. Strong conditionality will make what is right for the planet right for farm businesses and livelihoods too. This support must be available to all who want it, not just large landowners, but also small-scale farmers, crofters and tenants, including those without livestock. In the marine space, we must support fish farms to clean up their practices in line with the forthcoming vision on sustainable aquaculture, limiting pollution so that fisheries, the surrounding fisheries, can also thrive. The next pillars are about local food systems and putting control locally. The good food nation plans from local authorities and other public bodies are key mechanisms for this. It's crucial that this process involves working with local communities to develop food resilience and to build community wealth. The fifth pillar is about building knowledge and skills, and it's a key element to food sovereignty. The farm advisory service should be scaled up and refocused to support the vision for Scottish agriculture, investing in pilots of new approaches such as indoor horticulture in less-favourered areas, woodland crops with food production and high welfare for practices with calf. A wider range of specialist organisations should be funded also to deliver advice, and it shouldn't be top-down. Peer-to-peer knowledge exchange is the most effective way to extend innovation and regenerative practices across all farming systems, which I'm aware is already taking place and is very welcome by farmers. Finally, the sixth pillar is working with nature, and this must be done at scale. I look forward to the upcoming regional land use partnerships presenting their frameworks from their pilot projects, because I think that this is an essential way to go. Working with nature shouldn't be addressed separately. Everything that I've already outlined will bring us closer to working in harmony with nature, not against it. Farming and the food system must be shaped by our commitment to protect 30 per cent of land and sea by 2030. We will need more people working on the land to produce food, working on our coasts in shellfishing, seaweed farms and sustainable fisheries and working to restore our nature everywhere. It continues to provide for us as we become a more self-sufficient, sustainable and secure good food nation. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I represent a hugely rural region with many of Scotland's hardworking farmers, and I wanted to speak in this motion today. As the Government's motion states, I want to applaud the progress that has already been made by the agricultural and aquaculture sectors to adapt to and to mitigate the impact of the twin global climate and biodiversity crisis. Our farmers face a huge amount of pressure in the media, and as NFU Scotland pointed out, can often feel vilified and blamed for causing climate change. That is not the case. Our farmers and fishers are the food producers. They are working incredibly hard to mitigate the impact of climate change, and the evidence shows that, particularly here in Scotland, our farmers, crofters and food producers have already hugely adapted to these practices to protect our environment and reduce their carbon footprint. Much of this change has been made possible through investment in agricultural sciences and emerging technologies. I have witnessed much research, including at SRUC Burnley campus, the dairy nexus, for instance, and vertical farming, which has been mentioned by John Swinney already. I know from farmers in Dumfries and Galloway that they are installing on farm renewable energy, renewable production of their energy, such as solar panels and wind turbines, minimising use of petroleum-based fertilisers and pesticides and reducing dependence on fossil fuels 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, planting cover crops and reduced or no-till cultivation. My constituent, Christopher Nicholson, chair of the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association, who farms in Whithorn, has not plowed or deep cultivated for over 20 years. He says that it is a big cost saving in less fuel and machinery, but now Chris also sees improved soil health and higher soil organic matter, and soil health is absolutely crucial for food security and co-cab stewards spoke about that as well. Presiding Officer, 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 and food security and producing food that delivers for the climate and nature. I do not think that I have time, Presiding Officer, because at the last time I took a intervention from the member, he made a speech, and I think that we are out of time. The Scottish Government is continuing 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 to the basic payment scheme and greening payments that were made in advance. Annually, that Government provides around £420 million through those schemes. However, in the face of the support that the Scottish Government is taking to support our food producers, we are continually hammered by UK Government policies. Again, as the motion states, the food and drink sector in Scotland and across the UK has borne the brunt of the clarity that Brexit produced and pursued by the UK Government particularly through the loss of free trade and free movement. Martin Kennedy, the president of NFU Scotland, said that the Brexit dividend certainly has not come about at all. All the things that they were concerned about, the whole reason that we backed remain at the time they have all 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 we were part of a 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 that the cabinet secretary established a food security unit in response to the war in Ukraine and the unit will look at current and future threats to ensure food resilience across Scotland. I welcome that the cabinet secretary has done that. Brexit means that the Scottish Government no longer has long-term certainty of funding and the unilateral choices that are being imposed by the Treasury provide insufficient replacement EU funding is a huge concern. The Scottish Government has been clear and consistent in its position. It expects full equivalence replacement of EU funds to ensure that there is no detriment to our finances and 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. Finally, Presiding Officer, I am proud of our farmers in Scotland. We should all be proud of our Scottish farmers. They are our food producers, they are the custodians of our land and they deserve our thanks. Tonight at decision time I will support the Scottish Government's motion. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Thank you. We move to winding up speeches. Point of order, Rachael Hamilton. Please could the chamber get some clarification on the length of the debate because we have been told that there is no time for interventions by the Deputy Presiding Officer and two of the last members have not taken interventions because they say that their time is restricted. Thank you, Ms Hamilton. It is the case that we are on schedule at this point. The point that I believe the Deputy Presiding Officer has made is that we are on time. It is wholly a matter for the member with regards to the management of their time and as to whether or not they accept an intervention. Point of order, Emma Harper. I seek some further guidance from you, Presiding Officer. My understanding was that we were out of time and so I cut my speech short and did not take any interventions. I normally do, but the last time I took interventions members went on and used half my speech time. I am conscious that I did have some time in hand at the end but I seek your clarity that my understanding was that I did not have enough time. My understanding is that during the debate there was time that other members had shared that time. At this point in time we are actually on time so there is no additional time. It is wholly up to the member whether or not the member accepts an intervention. It is certainly not in a position of cutting time short. I am now going to winding up speeches and I call on Beatrice Wishart. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I think it is fair to say that we have had a robust debate this afternoon showing the passion for communities across Scotland to ensure our food supply. Should my amendment pass this evening it will signal to communities around our coasts that the Scottish Parliament is listening to the strength of feeling the Government's HPMA proposals. As I have previously mentioned communities concerned about the HPMAs are not against protection of our marine life quite the opposite. Aquaculture and fishing can continue alongside evidence-based policies to protect our seas, natural habitats and life. Rachael Hamilton this afternoon highlighted the work across the food and agriculture sector in developing strategies to tackle the climate emergency and production. We can improve our land and sea environments in conjunction with and bring along with us those working in them. We know the impact on food prices has been stark in this cost of living crisis as Sarah Boyack and others have said. Rora Grant spoke about the many people including those working in the food industries relying on food banks for Richard Leonard spoke of the thin line between hunger and anger. Our sustainable secure food supply must be affordable for consumers whilst giving farmers and growers a fair deal too. After all, without a home growing farming sector we will be far from keeping consumer costs down. Food security was little spoken of before the invasion of Ukraine and as I alluded to earlier, policies of both Scotland's governments have had negative impacts on achieving this. Food prices have been exacerbated more in Ukraine but also the UK government's Brexit deal has left us to tackle higher inflation where comparable countries' inflation rates are lower. Without willing workers who we used to see come from the continent food has been left to rot in the fields as John Swinney clearly outlined in his contribution. We were told by Brexit enthusiasts that we would be first in line for top trade deals and countries would be queuing at our door to sign deals with us. Our approach to trade deals has risked undermining Scottish and UK agriculture undercutting the goods that we produce to high environmental and animal welfare standards. Post-Brexit trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand have been described by NFU Scotland as one-sided with little to no advantage for Scottish farmers and as posing a long-term threat to key Scottish agriculture sectors such as beef, lamb and dairy. Scottish Liberal Democrats want to reaffirm that all trade deals should meet UK standards in environmental protection and animal welfare. Brian Whittle spoke of reduced food miles and joined up public procurement which would bring about improvements to health. While Kochab Stewart spoke about the global situation and the importance of education in making healthier choices. Scottish Liberal Democrats call on the Scottish Government to build upon the initial agriculture transition funding won by my party rewarding environmental stewardship and helping agricultural businesses to make investments that will rapidly reduce emissions. To conclude we will look closely and support means to keep farming profitable, sustainable and with a focus on the need to ensure that food is on the tables and in the shop shelves across the country. Thank you. I call on Mercedes Villalba. Thank you. In the Cabinet Secretary's opening remarks she and her colleagues laid the blame for harvest rotting on the vine on Brexit and its impacts. Presiding Officer it's frankly embarrassing that seven years since that vote the Scottish Government continues to wring its hands instead of rolling up its sleeves and getting to work. Scottish Government Ministers know that a country's economy cannot be based on importing labour from overseas. Of course we must always welcome new neighbours but that must be in addition to and not instead of developing our own labour strategy because without an industrial strategy for a sustainable food supply chain that recruits, that trains and that values workers through unionised jobs and excellent paying conditions we will all go hungry. I'll take an intervention from Jim Fairlie. Jim Fairlie. I'd like to thank Mercedes Villalba for taking that intervention. Does that mean that the member agrees with Swella Baraverman? Mercedes Villalba. I think it's quite telling that the intervention from the SNP Back Bencher focuses on Westminster politics I think it demonstrates that the SNP know that at the next election there is a choice between only two parties and they can continue to support the rotten Tory Government or they can get behind labour and give Scotland the Government that it needs. Presiding Officer we also heard from Rachel Hamilton that our food security issues are entirely the fault of events elsewhere. Never mind their Tory Government's decimation of the economy never mind their Tory Government's absolute unwillingness to tackle the gross inequalities at the heart of our economic system and never mind their Tory Government's overseeing of the rising food bank use which shames us all. Food producers, agriculture workers and every single one of our friends and our neighbours who are donating and accessing food banks on a weekly basis they all have one thing in common and that is failed Tory economics. Failed Tory economics that allows supermarket profits to soar unchecked. Failed Tory economics that allows those profits to rise while children go hungry and failed Tory economics that allows our food producers to be undercut by their disastrous post-Brexit trade agreements and then they have the audacity to stand up in this Parliament and they claim to advocate for rural mental health for rural repopulation for rural livelihoods whether it's denial or delusion it's utterly shameful. Taken intervention from Mr Munda I enjoyed the start of her speech more than this section I wondered if she would agree with me that there is absolutely no reason why we're not building enough houses in rural Scotland and that has absolutely nothing to do with Brexit. It's got everything to do with the economy Mr Mundael and your party is totally failing on that. Presiding Officer it doesn't have to be this way many of our producers are leading the way with high nature value farming with conservation grazing and with a wide range of measures that will have a positive impact on the local and global environment and economy but the current systems do not reward these steps enough so we need to see radical actions to address the injustice and harm that our current system is doing because until no child in Scotland is hungry and until no food banks are needed we cannot call ourselves a good food nation. I'll take an intervention from the member. Collette Stevenson I thank the member for taking that intervention at the recent social justice committee we took evidence from Cara Helton from the trust of trust and I just wonder if the member would welcome this because of the Scottish child payment it's a great example of a policy that's actually working and it's making a difference because there's a reduction now in the amount of food parcels that are given out to these children and that's clear in their stats I wonder if the member would welcome that information. Of course we welcome the Scottish Government coming behind Labour on our call for that increase Presiding Officer As I said before the intervention we cannot call ourselves a good food nation until no child in Scotland is hungry and until no food bank is needed and that is why Labour is calling for the right to food to be enshrined in law and empowered through the food commission and it's why the next Labour Government will end the use of zero hour contracts that so blight our food supply chains and our economy Labour would see every child fed every worker heard and every flower bloom Thank you and I call on Finlay Carson Thank you, Presiding Officer Seven years after voting to leave the European Union the SNP Green Coalition are still dithering and what will come next for our food sector and the clock is ticking 300 farmers recently gathered outside Holyrood demanding food production at the new agriculture bill and despite George Burgess the director of agriculture and rural economy describing the event as a celebration of Scottish food make no mistake, this was a protest a protest to send a clear message to the Scottish government that secure and sustainable food production needed to be at the heart of the new agriculture bill Farmers are desperate to continue to invest in protecting and sustainable secure food supply for the whole of the country and that goes hand in hand with meeting biodiversity and climate change goals Scotland's farmers have already taken great strides towards reducing their emissions despite the lack of any significant support from this SNP Green Government but farmers know there is still much to be done and the industry relishes the challenge provided they are kept fully informed if what is expected of them and know what the end game is and that's something that is seriously lacking up to now we have had so many different pieces of legislation being lined up for this Parliament to consider the biodiversity plan, climate change plan land reform, wildlife management bill but worryingly despite the cabinet secretary being asked repeatedly throughout our time in office marigusion has failed to answer a straightforward question is the cabinet secretary proposing an agriculture policy that takes note of environmental biodiversity and emissions targets or is the cabinet secretary planning to have environment biodiversity net zero policies that agriculture sits behind well we all know the answer now because it's very clear that agriculture is just trailing in behind the overriding environmental policies being influenced by the unevidence policies driven by the urban dwelling extreme greens and their chamber contributions don't even stand up for scrutiny as we see with the hated policy where is the economic impact assessment of this approach to determine the damage being done to the rural economy of Scotland we've known since 24th of June 2016 when many of us first discussed the implications of leaving carp that the Royal Highlands show that there would be a need for a new agricultural policy and this Government should be right on to it we've had seven years of dilly dallying and consultation after consultation on the direction of travel or outcome and to make the impact of delaying worse it comes at the same time as we have undoubtedly the need for far and rapid far reaching policies to address climate change and some great work was done by the farmer led groups the FLGs were established to develop advice and proposals to the Scottish Government on how to cut emissions and tackle climate change they reported in March 2021 and the good news is many of the recommendations have adopted are now delivering tangible results but the bad news is that they're not being delivered or adopted in Scotland it's the Irish who appeared to have implemented many of the actions from the FLG reports it's the Irish Government who have backed these measures to encourage and promote circular beef production in Ireland to the tune of 265 million euros over five years and 41,000 farmers in Ireland have signed up to the line subsidy to condition soils and improve productivity and therefore reduce inputs here the Government has attracted less than 200 farmers to sign up for a £500 deal to take soil samples what an abject failure not a failure of our farmers but one of this SNP Government I've already touched on recommendations for the FLG's including the important work of the circular beef climate group as well as work done by the food and agriculture stakeholders task force and the agricultural industry's confederation and our academics and reserves organisations are doing an amazing job in developing well evidence strategies to enable food producers to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change without compromising production but we need the Government to play their part right now no sign that they're stepping up to the mark anywhere near fast enough or with adequate resources but it's only right that we recognise the contribution that's been made by horticulturists and an agriturist industry for the role they play at the heart of rural coastal and island communities and contributing to Scotland's £15 billion food and drink industry and as Brian Whittle touched on the retail value of agriturism now has increased to by almost £50 million to over £110 million and with many pressures currently facing farmers and they have to diversify simply to make ends meet producing food is simply not enough and farmers are left to sort out situations including their local food supply chains that this Government should have done many years ago yet many insist it still feels like there's not enough policies, adequate policies or financial support in this expanding sector and more needs to be done to promote this and advertise the value of local food chains and Scottish rural businesses. The Scottish Conservative Unionist Party proposes will support Scotland's rural and island communities by procuring and securing jobs and livelihoods by creating a viable future for our farmers, crofters and fishermen as the Scottish land and the state recognises Scotland's land is essential to produce food, sequestrate, carbon and enhance biodiversity to stand up for Scottish farmers and rapidly realise opportunities from new free trade agreements and the development of agricultural support schemes. We've heard today again I'll give way. First the member for taking an intervention. What opportunities for beef and cattle farmers will come from the New Zealand trade deal? Finlay Carson. There is a whole range of different opportunities that we've got and the problem with this Government it would rather put constitutional grievance rather than getting the day job done. We've had seven years since we left Europe to make the best of the job. Whether we agree with Brexit or not the SNP Government failed to step up to the mark. We've heard again today that Scottish Salmon is an extraordinary global success story that supports thousands of jobs and contributes millions of pounds to the UK economy. With Scottish Salmon having one of the lowest carbon footprints of any farm-raised animals as the evidence from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization will tell us. However the SNP Green Coalition are planning to introduce a mandatory 10% of HPMAs when over 40% is already subject to restrictions. You must conclude Mr Carson. With biodiversity and climate emergencies rising food costs, inflation across the globe is a perfect storm. The SNP Government must bring forward the strategies and policies as a matter of urgency to allow proper and thorough scrutiny with proper peer-reviewed science at the heart of it to ensure that we have a future agriculture policy that is sustainable food production as a focus. It's only with this approach that we can hope to deliver for the future health of our communities and that's health in the widest sense and the long-tail health of our planet. Thank you. Cabinet Secretary. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I really just want to thank members for what has been I think we can all agree on this point a very lively debate as it should be because I think that really shows the level of interest and demonstrates the importance of food security to us all. I also just want to thank those organisations who contacted us with briefing for the debate today. There is an awful lot of ground to cover so I will try to get through as much as I possibly can the points raised the debate as I can. First, I just want to touch on each of the amendments that were put forward for the motion today because I do think that there are elements of all of those that we would welcome. In relation to the amendment that had been put forward by Beatrice Wishart I think that we would absolutely agree about the importance of our fishing and agriculture sectors because Scotland's fishing industry is the lifeblood of our coastal communities. Our jobs and businesses sustain that unique heritage and we have life and contribute substantially to our wider economy through processing and also through exports. We will see fish and seafood become even more important to our food security in the future. That is why we have continued to work to secure £486 million worth of fishing opportunities through our international negotiations. Why we have Marine Fund Scotland supporting that innovation to see in those sectors why we spend more than £9.7 million on science. I fully recognise, yes I will. I just wonder whether the cabinet secretary believes those fishing opportunities and additional fishing opportunities would have been available if we were still in the CFP. Cabinet secretary. I will come on to address the points that the member raises but he is a bit rich to talk about fishing opportunities considering all the promises that were made during Brexit for our fishers which I have yet to materialise. I fully recognise the concerns that have been raised in the chamber today which have been heard in a series of debates over the past few weeks about HPMAs in particular and together with the cabinet secretary for net zero we have made clear that we are listening and we will be carefully considering the results of the consultation. We will also be engaging with communities and the fishing industry and I took the opportunity while I was in Shetland earlier this week to do just that with other bodies in Shetland Islands Council to discuss more of the issues that had been raised by Beatrice Wishart. I welcome that in her amendment Rachel Hamilton at long last acknowledges the progress that is being made by this Government and the food and drink sector on transforming how we farm and I am more than happy to remind her and the Scottish Tories that the SNP is keeping direct support for farmers and crofters and it is their party that is removing it in England. We are seeking clarity on the funding that was announced on Tuesday and I trust that should that be new money Rachel Hamilton and her colleagues will of course support my calls for a fair share of that funding to be devolved to Scotland for us to determine how to spend it on Scottish priorities in food security. Now there are some other points that I need to address from Finlay Carson's closing speech in relation to the assertions and that lack of support for our industry. Now again this is the Government that committed to direct payments, not withdrawing that support as the UK Government has done down south. I also wish Mr Carson would actually take the time to read the information that we publish, our vision for agriculture our route map as well as the list of measures that we published alongside that and I think it's clear from his closing speech he hasn't used that opportunity because the list of measures that we published alongside the route map which set out when the key decisions will be made when we will be providing more information but actually the list of measures that were based on that work of the farmer-led groups as I said that is the foundation for the policy that we are taking forward and the list of measures is evidence of that and I do think that both he and Mercedes Vidalba seem to have forgotten about the stability and simplicity that key period between Brexit and now which we committed to so that we had that certainty and that we had that stability for our farming industry as we then progressed to a new policy. The planning to Labour's amendment and Rhoda Grant's contribution in particular which focused on food security as it affects people and households now we do agree that affordability is a key issue and we know that from the latest on SS estimates that in the last 12 months to March 2023 we've seen that average food prices for UK households rise by almost 20% and that's why we've allocated almost £3 billion to support policies which tackle poverty and protect people as far as possible at the on-going cost of living crisis and we know that this is providing vital support including helping people access emergency cash in their local communities while in the long term we do seek to ensure that people have sufficient income to buy a diverse range of healthy and nutritious food but I think that Rhoda Grant's amendment also highlights just how limited our powers are in this regard and how much is still reserved to the UK Government so I do welcome Scottish Labour's recognition of these issues, the limits to what we can do currently and hope that they will now bring us in arguing for more powers, more funding and more levers to tackle food insecurity and employment but I do also want to touch on a really important point. Rhoda Grant Because what I was speaking about is using the Scottish Government's own powers and for example your consultation on the ending of food banks in Scotland was supposed to come forward with a plan of work last winter and hasn't, when will that work come forward? Rhoda Grant Because that was exactly what I was coming on to because I think the statistics that you highlighted from the Trussell Trust and the truly shocking figures that you presented on the amount of food parcels that are now being delivered shows how stark the situation is and you did mention the plan for ending the need for food banks so since consulting on the plan we know that the context in which that was done has changed considerably with the cost of living crisis among other factors and the plan will be published shortly showing the actions that we will take to tackle food insecurity but I would be happy to follow up with the member with more information on that. We've also touched on the importance of local food and local food supply chains. We are also working to create more food security locally for people, businesses and communities. Through the Food for Life programme we're providing a further £480,000 worth of funding over the course of this next financial year to the soil association so that more local authorities can be accredited to deliver more locally sourced health air food in schools and we've provided over £700,000 since 2020 to the Scottish Grocers Federation for their Go Local programme which is helping to transform convenience stores with dedicated display space for Scottish produce. We're also working with key stakeholders to finalise our local food strategy to connect more people with local food connect Scottish producers with buyers and local menus and harness the power of public sector procurement. I am sorry because I need to make some progress. Which brings me to the Good Food Nation Act. So many of the issues that were mentioned by Brian Whittle and Cochab Stewart will be fundamental to the Good Food Nation plan that we must produce. Food links so many different areas of policy in government and it will be in this key document that we will pull all of those together. So whether that's food waste, education, improving health, resilient supply chains and procurement which of course I know is an issue that the member has raised with me on previous occasions as well as mentioned and focused on by Sarah Boyack in her contribution today which of course is important to all of these discussions too. But I think that Jim Fairlie not at the moment I do need to make progress Jim Fairlie also made a really important point today because I think in talking about all these different areas that food links he makes the point that food impacts each and every one of us. I know that Richard Leonard asked about the progress in relation to the Good Food Nation plans we have set out those timescales for bringing those forward in line with what's set out in the legislation. Now another key point that I really want to touch on today which has been raised in a number of contributions. I think that Rachel Hamilton and the Tories have a brass neck to talk about reducing costly food flown in from abroad. It's their party that's allowing imports completely unimpeded into this country. That voted down protections of our high animal welfare standards to be protected in trade deals. That their own deaf minister admitted sold our producers down the river and the same party that repeatedly pushed back import checks with the very real biosecurity risks that that would present particularly to vulnerable sectors like our pig sector who face very real threats from the likes of African swine favour. I will conclude. I know that Oliver Mundell and his contribution to be honest, I didn't even want to touch on that since all he seemed to do was hurl insults and mistreats. He talked about the one benefit of a trade deal. No, I won't take the initiative. You've heard that I must close. I agree there may be benefits for the whisky industry but we should never be looking for benefits for one sector over another. He completely forgets about the beef producers about the lamb producers in this country. Again, completely sold down the river by his Government. In conclusion, as much as we do to make food supply more sustainable and secure at all levels in Scotland, we do that with only a fraction of the powers, levers and funding that we need. We need more powers so we can do more to protect our own people from the ravages of food inflation and to use our own energy resources to benefit our own people and businesses and frankly help more of them to keep the lights and the machines on. Thank you. That concludes the debate on securing a sustainable food supply for Scotland. It's now time to move on to the next item of business and there are four questions to be put as a result of today's business. The first is the amendment 9014.1 in the name of Rachel Hamilton which seeks to amend motion 9014 in the name of Marie Gougeon on securing a sustainable food supply for Scotland be agreed. Are we all agreed? The Parliament is not agreed therefore we'll move to vote and there will be a short suspension to allow members to access the digital voting system.