THE phrase "food security" was hardly heard for decades, but with food supplies tightening around the world, it is now top of the agenda for one of Scotland's strongest lobbying organisations.
The man who next week takes over as chairman of the Scottish Rural Property Business Association is adamant that food production is now a crucial issue for the Scottish Government.
Luke Borwick, of Dalry in Ayrshire, said: "As an association, we
have been talking about food security for some time now and it is essential that government realises how important this issue is to the national economy."
Borwick, who served for ten years with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards before returning to his family estate in Ayrshire, said the SRPBA wanted to develop a good relationship with the government, and he praised the current approach by the politicians. "They have brought a fresh focus on rural Scotland and also introduced a novel access to ministers.
"We have a very clear strategy of close engagement with the government and we have found that ministers are very positive and willing to meet the challenges."
Borwick paid tribute to the work that his predecessor, Keith Arbuthnott, had carried out on behalf of the SRPBA.
Although many will remember Arbuthnott for introducing the SRPBA title that saw the old Scottish Landowners Federation name being discarded, his influence and hard work went far beyond that change.
Arbuthnott brought in a more co-operative approach to working with other rural organisations in Scotland, and Borwick said he would be continuing that work.
One area where the SRPBA has recently been involved in trying to bring about change is on farm tenancy issues. As partners in the Tenancy Forum, they have just submitted their views to government on how the tenanted sector could be improved.
"While there are fewer tenancies now than there used to be, it is still important that we have a strong tenanted sector," Borwick said. "But it is also important that they, the tenants, realise that landlords are also running businesses."
In a similar vein to his predecessor, Borwick would like to remove some of the complications arising from the 2003 Land Reform Act. In particular, he reckoned the two types of tenancies are unnecessary.
"What is really needed would be something along the lines of the much more relaxed scheme working in England, where the landlord and tenant agree terms that suit each other," he said.
Borwick's comments on business are based on his own experience on his 3,000 acre Blair estate, where he runs both dairy and beef enterprises. But in order to keep the financial wheels turning profitably at home, he has also developed a number of diversification projects.
Blair Castle, the oldest continually inhabited mansion in Scotland that has not been rebuilt, now offers five-star accommodation.
The full article contains 479 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
