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Throughout the bill process, we heard from stakeholders who said that it would be useful for the Scottish Government to recognise that the processing facilities in Scotland are not up to scratch and that it would be easier for people to access food locally if those processing facilities were available, rather than food being produced in Scotland and then having to travel to England and back to Scotland to the retailers.

We need a recognition that we have to do something about that. My amendment sets out to ensure that we evaluate where those food miles are going. A number of products are travelling a long way to get back to source, and it is important that people can access food locally. I am disappointed that the cabinet secretary does not seem to recognise the intent behind the amendment.

I think that it was a consequential amendment to amendment 28. I think that you have already called amendment 112.

I move amendment 118.

At this stage, I am not minded to support amendment 46, because I am concerned that the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill has been introduced only recently and we do not know how that will play out. I am slightly worried about adding land reform to any objectives.

I am just wondering where in the objectives it is said that they relate to food security.

Will the cabinet secretary comment on the committee evidence session in which high-quality food was described as

“unadulterated produce that comes out the ground and that is produced under the basic standards and expectations of Scottish agriculture”?—[Official Report, Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, 29 November 2023; c 4.]

That does not represent high quality. Although we want to have an aspiration for farmers and crofters to produce high-quality food, it is important that we define what high quality means in terms of food production. Will the cabinet secretary support and work with me in order to potentially lodge a stage 3 amendment in that vein?

The cabinet secretary must understand why members of the committee and others have lodged amendments of this nature. We asked for more clarity and detail on the rural support plan, which we did not get and we were not provided with. Evidence suggests that others who work in and around the sector agreed with us. That is why many of these amendments have been lodged. However, the cabinet secretary is now telling us that the detail will come at stage 3. I want it to go on the record that I would have appreciated having had sight of your intentions. You can understand why we have lodged these amendments.

Yes, but we have had a commitment up to the end of the financial year, plus there is the uplift from the Bew review. When you come back for the discussions and collaborative working that you want to do with the committee on the amendments relating to the rural support plan, will you also come forward with what the Scottish Government will commit in future budgets, beyond what you have already committed to?

I would like to get some more detail on that point. Are you saying that the real living wage is part of that and that your aim is for that to be adopted by the agricultural sector and not be set by the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board?

Amendment 131 would remove development in EU law and policy from matters that a rural support plan must have regard to. Scottish farmers deserve a plan that works for them rather than one that suits the Scottish National Party’s plan for independence as set out by the cabinet secretary.

The bill is a chance to break free from the one-size-fits-all approach of the EU’s common agricultural policy. Therefore, Scottish ministers should use their powers to create a bespoke approach to agriculture funding for Scottish farmers. Farmers and producers are already held back by the Scottish Government’s decision not to embrace gene-editing technology, which would bring widespread benefits across the industry and strengthen our food security.

Those constitutional games not only create barriers within the UK internal market; crucially, they hinder farmers’ ability to provide food for Scotland. Instead of using the agricultural industry as a constitutional pawn, Scottish ministers should embrace this opportunity to create agricultural policy that puts the needs of Scottish farmers and producers at the top.

NFU Scotland supports amendment 131 and says that there are valid concerns in relation to the reliance on developments in the law and policy of the EU while preparing and amending the rural support plan. Major divergence from current practice could cause issues in relation to the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020; therefore, NFU Scotland wishes the requirement to consider EU law and policy removed. Furthermore, Scottish Land & Estates agrees with the amendment.

With regard to the other amendments in the group, I will support a number of them, but I want to highlight Ariane Burgess’s amendment 48 on behalf of the Green Party. I will be very happy to support that.