Supply Chains Co-operat ion
Technology
Collaborat ion
Innovat ion Dat a
update Autumn ‘24
Building on Solid Foundations for the Future, Today Tim Bailey, SAOS Chief Exec reflects on our positive progress As I outlined at our recent AGM , SAOS continues to evolve and change, following our strategy to diversify our income base, enhance our profile and, as a result, increase the influence we can wield for the benefit of our co-op members - and agriculture in general. As a co-operative, our focus on our members is constant and remains our ‘compass’, regardless of how we much we ourselves have grown. One of our key service areas is the support and development of our members, and co-operation in general, but we must do this despite receiving less direct support for this activity now, in both cash and real terms, than we did 20 years ago! This has made the diversification of the business critical, to secure our income for the years ahead and allow us to continue ‘punching above our weight’ for the benefit of our member owners. It is therefore heartening to see the continued improvement in financial performance of the business as a whole, with both FIA and SmartRural getting into their stride, and with the continued success of ScotEID. Lobbying and representation work has been critical this last 12 months, with continued development of a new Scottish agriculture policy, changes in approach in England, and with the recent passage of the Agriculture Bill in Scotland. As an organisation with limited resources and no ‘lobbying machine’, we have had to be tactical and focused to ensure our voice and ‘asks’ are recognised and acted upon. This activity has included direct liaison with Government ministers and officials, use of the ARIOB forum, engagement with the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, one-to-ones with relevant MSPs, and collaborative work with stakeholder partners and groupings such as FAST and Scotland Food & Drink. As many of you are aware, this activity has been very productive, with key co-op supportive elements now enshrined on the statute book within the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act. These include a key requirement that Government Ministers must actively consider how to reflect and support the benefits that co-ops bring with respect to programmes, funding and focus within the new Rural Support Plan (RSP). The RSP outlines in detail agricultural programmes and funding priorities. In addition, there is explicit recognition that co-ops are eligible recipients for enterprise support, and as bona fide applicants for joint (vs individual producer) project applications. These may only be a few words, but in the big scheme of things these are substantial, positive changes. We will leverage these provisions to benefit existing coops and to help enable and support new forms of co-operation going forward. Our new priority and focus is to influence the design and development of the Rural Support Plan so that new Tier 3 and 4 programmes have distinct co-op elements, and are supportive of initiatives that underpin the resilience, performance and potential of our farmer co-op members. The foundations are now in place - it’s time to build upon them!