Agriculture Champions announced

The Scottish Government has appointed four Agriculture Champions to advise on the development of a strategy for the sector.

The Agriculture Champions will help develop an Agriculture Strategy to guide the long-term sustainable future for Scottish agriculture, by increasing profitability and boosting innovation, production and sustainability.

Each Champion will be paired across four themes:

• Education and Training Champion - Henry Graham, Scottish Chair of Lantra
• Food and Drink Champion - Archie Gibson, Chair of the Scottish Food and Drink Federation
• Sustainability Champion - John Kinnaird, Farmer and Former President of NFUS
• Public Value Champion - Marion MacCormick, Buying Director for ALDI

The announcement was made by Fergus Ewing at a Farming and Food Summit in Edinburgh today.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity, Fergus Ewing, said:

“I welcome our Agricultural Champions to their new roles and look forward to working with them to deliver on our commitment to develop a strategy to inform the long term sustainable future of our agriculture sector.

“Today’s summit brings together stakeholders from across both food and farming to look at how we build relationships between Scotland’s producers and their markets, alongside addressing the challenges being faced by rural businesses.

 “Of course, we can’t ignore the wider political and economic implications of leaving the European Single Market and the summit is as an opportunity to address the impact for farming and food production.

“These sectors are particularly reliant upon our continued access to free movement of labour and wider EU support. I am committed to fully engaging with stakeholders to understand the challenges they face as a result of the Brexit decision.”

ENDS

Background

The Farming and Food Summit brings together industry and Government representatives with wider stakeholders to discuss issues affecting the food and farming sectors, such as ease of access for farmers to the food chain, and possible impacts of leaving the European Single Market.