Publication - Research and analysis
Review of the environmental and socio-economic barriers and benefits to organic agriculture in Scotland
Report of the research carried out by Harper Adams University, on behalf of the Scottish Government, into the environmental and socio-economic barriers and benefits to organic agriculture in Scotland.
Appendix 3
Table 12: Actions discussed by Scottish Organic Forum members to address the environmental and socio-economic benefits and barriers to organic farming in Scotland.
| Action | Methods to address it | Facilitator (Current/Proposed) |
|---|---|---|
| Promoting organic through lower pricing | Retailers | |
| Cooperation – utilise and promote Scottish Organic produce i.e. campaign support reflecting Quality Meat Scotland | Via policy & funding | Scottish Government |
| Invest in promotion for consumers (canteens, schools), promote public sector procurement | ||
| Greater transparency i.e. Swedish Government campaign on pesticides in urine | ||
| Application of Scottish organic labelling | Feasibility analysis fund | Soil Association (ongoing) |
| Create an emotional value to organic produce for consumers i.e. Food Citizens, and limit divisiveness and exclusivity | Promotion to buy consumers into the organic story | |
| Developing the local organic supply chain | Project ongoing assessing mobile abattoirs in Rural Innovation Support Service (RISS) group (Innovative Farmers, 2019a) | Soil Association (ongoing) |
| Investigate, facilitate, broker supply and demand of Scottish organic produce | Caledonian Organics (ongoing) | |
| Provision of ongoing support for implementation of AES/ Investigate specific organic approach under a new AES equivalent post-Brexit | Policy needs to agree a provision of support | |
| More adaptive governance of AES | Determine whether AES is appropriate for future organics payments or a stand-alone fund? | |
| A focus on markets rather than farmers | ||
| Relaxation of immigration policy for farm workers | Encourage short-term farm work i.e. WWOOF | |
| Incorporate agroecology into education | ||
| Education and normalising people’s perceptions of organic production | ||
| Internal education schemes as part of certification for farmers already practicing organically | Ongoing Soil Association Scotland services include: RISS (Innovative Farmers, 2019), Farming programmes (The Soil Association, 2019) and troubleshooting by certification officers. | Soil Association (ongoing) |
Contact
Email: pamela.blyth@gov.scot
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