Chamber and committees

I will carry on with questions about the rural support plan. In its submission, the Scottish Crofting Federation talked about some of the related matters that should be included in it. Would others like to put on record what they believe should be in the plan in terms of the related matters that cross-reference other bills or acts?

Kirsty Jenkins, which areas of animal welfare are you concerned about? The farming sector is highly regulated by farm assurance schemes, but you said that consumers are particularly concerned about animal welfare in food production. What specific areas are you thinking of?

We need to consider the limitations of the EU in delivering on climate change policy in agriculture, too. Many people have kicked back on the farm to fork strategy, and some organic producers have found that their products are now no longer niche. We need to be cognisant of the fact that some of it is not working. Some examples have been lauded in the room today as things that we should aspire to, but we need to consider the other side of that, too.

I mean the issues that you have just talked about, such as fair work and supporting smallholdings and crofters.

Liz, you talked about the carrot and the stick. Are there aspects of CPD that Lantra believes should be either compulsory or voluntary?

Convener, can I follow up very quickly with Donald MacKinnon?

Is that not covered in another part of legislation—

Before you bring in the next witness, convener, I have a question about one of the areas that would be under consideration. I have noticed that some individuals have connected organic farming and gene editing. I wonder if a specific bill on gene editing would be beneficial to some of the climate change mitigations that we are trying to enact. Does anyone wish to voice an opinion on that?

My question is about the practicalities of some of the purposes of support in schedule 1—in particular, the provisions on the agricultural supply chain. I will start with Donald MacKinnon. Today, a lot of people have mentioned the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022. It seems as though the budget that would be associated with what that act intends to do will be encompassed into those provisions in schedule 1. From a practical or behavioural point of view, how will the bill drive change so that crofters can, for example, get together to create a new abattoir or look at animal haulage or farmers markets, as has been mentioned? The same applies to the organic movement. Are the provisions practical?

Donald, I wonder whether you could achieve what you have just talked about through the lens of the bill, or would you be looking at something through secondary legislation?