Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Boost farming by cutting food miles’ – Lib Dems

Willie Rennie set out his party's plans for agriculture while visiting a farm near Lauder.
Willie Rennie set out his party's plans for agriculture while visiting a farm near Lauder.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats say Scottish farmers should be helped to capitalise on a growing consumer awareness of food miles.

Setting out his party’s stall on agriculture and rural policy on a farm in the Borders, Lib Dem leader, Willie Rennie said the next Scottish Government needed to boost Scottish farming by cutting food miles and helping producers navigate procurement processes.

And he pledged  his party would work collaboratively on a new system of agricultural support to promote climate-friendly farming.

He said: “Scotland’s farmers produce some of the best food. From beef to the berries it’s amazing the quality of the products that are grown on our doorsteps.

Scottish raspberries are renowned for their quality and flavour.

“The more the food miles, the greater the damage to the environment.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats want a system that delivers climate-friendly farming alongside the critical work of producing food and providing rural employment.”

He pointed out the importance of food security early in the pandemic and the role farmers played in working “day-in day-out” to keep food on  shelves and tables when global supply chains seized up.

He added: “In our successful budget negotiations with the Scottish Government we succeeded in securing £5 million more for agriculture transition funding, which rewards farmers for good practices and helps our climate change priorities.

“Much more support will need to follow in the years ahead to help farmers make the adaptations we all want to see.”

Farmers’ markets have helped boost awareness of local produce.

Key elements of the party’s rural policy include:

  • Work collaboratively to establish a new system of agricultural support which promotes climate-friendly farming alongside the critical work of producing food and providing rural employment.
  • Cut food miles by valuing quality seasonal Scottish produce through procurement and helping producers and processors to navigate tendering
  • Work across the UK to prevent our markets being flooded with poor quality food that undercuts the goods we produce to high environmental and animal welfare standards.
  • ‘Croft proof’ future agricultural support to make sure active, family farmers and crofters are properly supported.

Mr Rennie said: “If Scotland is to recover from the pandemic, we need every sector running at full capacity, not more barriers, red tape and uncertainty,” Mr Rennie said.

“Our rural areas need a government that would put recovery first.”