Chamber and committees

With the pressures on food security and what you said about some of the traditional barley and cereal crops that are being grown in the islands, do you not think that the situation should be considered as an emergency by the Government?

Lastly, NatureScot says that it wants a balance between controlling the geese and mitigating the impacts on agricultural production. Do you have any examples of what NatureScot would consider appropriate if, for example, a crop had been trampled by geese and a crofter had to pay for more seed to resow and might end up losing the crop? What do you think would be considered to be a balance? Would crofters be content with compensation because they have to put up with the geese?

Scott Walker mentioned rolling out track 1 of the national test programme. The NFUS made a request to the Scottish Government to put greater funding towards the sustainable agriculture capital grant scheme. What is the hold-up? Would it be good for this committee to recommend to the Scottish Government that it replicate what has happened in the rest of the UK in relation to support for sustainable farming incentives, such as paying farmers to plant nitrogen-fixing legumes, clover and so on?

My supplementary question is for Scott Walker and follows on from Beatrice Wishart’s question. You talked about the food security impact assessment that you would like to see. To ensure that agricultural land is prioritised to address the food insecurity that we are experiencing, should there be a moratorium on the buying of land by non-agricultural businesses for large-scale forestry to offset carbon?

You mentioned that crofters are giving up. What do crofters do if they are not managing the land, and what happens to the land?

The decision was made through a democratic ballot, but I would like to hear more about the engagement that you have had with the board about how the change will impact on its ability to reach out to provide voluntary or commercial services to the people in the horticulture and potato sectors who previously used those services. Does the change have an impact on the support that the Scottish Government will have to give to the AHDB?

To respond to Gill Docherty’s point, it is important that the committee gets the whole picture, because we are starting from scratch.

I note from the 2006 act that the Scottish ministers set the precedent for veterinary inspections on tracks. I would like to hear from the veterinary industry. I know that that is going down the line, as we are opening it up to others as we develop our approach, but it is really important that we cover all the aspects and get a view from the veterinary world.

Is the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission going far enough in its proposals on what it will report on? It says that it might consider work

“as GBGB regulation only covers licensed tracks, to address issues with unlicensed tracks, also whether regulation is effective in, for example, reducing fatalities at tracks.”

If we are stuck at this point, it is the committee’s job to take further steps to ensure that the Animal Welfare Commission considers the issue in greater detail. If it is looking at the issue through such a narrow lens, that will surely not square with the aim of your petition.

I would like us to ask Police Scotland why it is so difficult to secure criminal prosecutions and disqualifications and other such provisions that are set out in the act. I would like to know whether the Gambling Commission has a statutory levy that supports the welfare aspect of the industry, and we ought to hear from the GBGB following the evidence that we heard from Gill Docherty.

It is just that the blight and aphid issues are driven through specific guidance in the potato sector that comes from Government. I suppose that, therefore, I would like your reassurance that you will not only continue to support the board itself but will provide support if things come to the point at which, for example, there might be job losses.

We need to make sure that Scotland is at the cutting edge of tackling blight and disease and ensuring that we do not have a pest issue. On behalf of the committee, I hope that we can get a reassurance from the Government that you will keep an eye on the situation.