RESILIENCE AMIDST VOLATILITY : A MANIFESTO FOR CO-OPERATION IN FOOD AND FARMING
Collective Challenges Need Collective Solutions Five steps to strengthen Scotland’s Food Security and Environment
THE POWER OF CO-OPERATION Scotland's food and farming sector is operating in an era of unprecedented change. Geopolitical instability, climate change, technological advances, labour shortages and increasingly disrupted supply chains are challenges that individual businesses cannot tackle alone.
These are collective challenges which require collective solutions.
Co-operatives and co-operation enable independent businesses to achieve together what they cannot achieve alone – providing the scale, investment, innovation and resilience needed to compete and thrive while retaining their independence.
FOOD SECURITY
GROWTH & PRODUCTIVITY
Co-operation strengthens domestic production, builds more resilient supply chains and enables investment that individual businesses cannot make alone.
Co-operatives give independent businesses greater scale, investment capacity and market strength while allowing them to retain their independence.
TECHNOLOGY & DATA
CLIMATE & NATURE
Businesses can share the cost and risk of new technology and create trusted structures for capturing, sharing and utilising data.
Co-operation allows environmental action to be delivered across whole landscapes and through supply chains, rather than one business or farm at a time.
STRONG RURAL COMMUNITIES Co-operatives retain control, ownership, employment and economic value locally, creating stronger businesses and more resilient rural communities.
Co-operatives : Scotland’s Hidden Economy
£1.6 Bn
60 CO-OPS
Annual turnover of Scottish Producer Co-operatives
spread right across Scotland
25,000
~2,000
individual member businesses
employees, vital in rural areas
Co-operation is already a key part of Scotland’s rural economy. Taking it to the next level would accelerate progress of the food and drink industry strategy, led by the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership.
Five steps to strengthen Scotland We want the Scottish Government to put co-operation at the heart of its approach to food security, economic resilience and the environment.
1
SET A NATIONAL AMBITION FOR CO-OPERATION • •
2
PUT CO-OPERATION AT THE HEART OF AGRICULTURAL POLICY •
•
3
•
Pilot a co-operative approach to public procurement, enabling groups of smaller Scottish producers to aggregate supply and compete collectively for public-sector contracts. Pilot an expansion of Producer Organisation-type support to producer groups in other sectors, opening the benefits of structured co-operation.
MAKE FUNDING AND REGULATION WORK FOR CO-OPERATION •
•
5
Make co-operation a core objective of agricultural policy, with collaborative approaches recognised as a preferred way of delivering economic and environmental outcomes. Put co-operatives at the heart of Community Wealth Building plans and the new Social Economy Strategy, helping retain ownership, investment and value within Scotland’s rural communities and support delivery of Scotland’s Good Food Nation ambitions.
OPEN UP NEW MARKETS FOR SMALLER PRODUCERS AND BUSINESSES
•
4
Create a Co-operatives Growth Plan for Scotland, setting a clear ambition to create, develop and grow a new generation of rural co-operatives. Provide dedicated co-operative development support to turn opportunities for collaboration into viable new businesses, in the same way as has been done for social enterprises.
Design public funding to encourage collaboration. Specifically, amend current funding programmes such as the Future Farm Investment Scheme and Small Producers Pilot Fund that exclude support for farmer co-operatives. Explore routes for investment capital to enable growth, ensuring the Scottish National Investment Bank’s investment strategy supports co-operatives.
INVEST TOGETHER IN INFRASTRUCTURE, TECHNOLOGY AND DATA •
•
Prioritise investment in shared infrastructure and access to capital grants from the Food and Drink Processing Scheme, including co-operative processing, storage, packing and value-added facilities. Support co-operative investments in technology and trusted data, helping businesses adopt AI, automation and innovation while retaining appropriate ownership and control of their data.
CO-OPERATION IS NO LONGER DESIRABLE, IT IS ESSENTIAL STRONGER CO-OPS
A MORE RESILIENT SCOTLAND
CO-OPERATION ACROSS SCOTLAND 8 34 35 36 56 57
11
29 28
50
6 32 24
26 27 51
12
42
3
13 10 25
15
2
16 48
41 37
33
53
59 46
60 20
49
54
18
52 17
14 47 38 9 45
7
19 30 44
5 22
43
23 21 58 31
A national movement rooted in local businesses and communities. Focused on providing quality Scottish produce and meeting every day needs for farming and rural Scotland. Agronomy Services
Grain Storage/ Marketing
Potatoes
Dairy/Cheese
Livestock
Shellfish
Cereals Farmers Markets Fruit
Machinery Rings/ Training Organics Pigs/Pig Health
Aberdeen Grain Storage Angus Growers
3
ANM Group Ltd
4
Ardler Potato Co-op
5
Ayrshire Country Lamb Ltd
6
Banff & Moray Grain (Marketing) Ltd
7
BASL (BMR)
8
Birsay Farmers Ltd
9
Borders Machinery Ring Ltd
10
Broadwood Grain Cooperative Ltd
11
Caithness Livestock Breeders Ltd
12
Co Chomunn An Lochdair (Carnan Stores)
13
Deeside Woodland Products Ltd
14
East Lothian Potatoes Ltd
15
East of Scotland Farmers (Drying and Storage) Ltd
16
East of Scotland Farmers Ltd
17
East of Scotland Growers Ltd
18
Edinburgh Farmers Market Cooperative Ltd
55
1
39 40
4
1 2
Supplies/Inputs Timber Vegetables
19
Farm Stock (Scotland) Ltd
20
First Milk Ltd
21
Galloway Lamb Ltd
22
Girvan Early Growers (Vegetables)
23
Girvan Early Growers Ltd
24
GrainCo Scotland Ltd
25
Grampian Growers
26
Highland Agricultural Labour Services Ltd
27
Highland Grain Ltd
28
Lewis Crofters Ltd
29
Lewis Livestock Ltd
30
Lothian Lamb & Beef Ltd
31
Milk Suppliers Assoc
32
North Uist and Benbecula Livestock
33
Oban Livestock Centre Ltd
34
Orkney Auction Mart Ltd
35
Orkney Business Ring Ltd
36
Orkney Milk/Cheese Company Ltd
37
Perth Farmers’ Market Ltd
38
Progressive Agri Ltd
39
Ringlink (Scotland) Ltd
40
Ringlink Services
41
Rural Services Scotland Ltd
42
Saltire Seed Ltd
43
Scott Country Lamb
44
Scott Country Potato Growers Ltd
45
Scott Country Potatoes Ltd
46
Scottish Agronomy Ltd
47
Scottish Borders Produce Ltd
48
Scottish Honeyberries Ltd
49
Scottish Organic Milk Producers Ltd
50
Scottish Organic Producers Association Ltd
51
Scottish Pigs
52
Scottish Potato Co-op
53
Scottish Quality Crops
54
Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group
55
Seed Potato Organisation
56
Shetland Abattoir Co-operative Ltd
57
Shetland Livestock Marketing Group Ltd
58
Tarff Valley Ltd
59
Tay Forth Machinery Ring Ltd
60
United Farmers Ltd
Working together to shape the future of farming and food