A new network for farmers and crofters to highlight and share climate change mitigation actions is to be established.
The Agriculture, Biodiversity and Climate Change Network (ABCCN) aims to inspire farmers and crofters to take greater action by highlighting their peers’ activities in one location online. Once set up, it will be hosted on the Farming for a Better Climate website. Farmers will be able to share a wide range of information, including videos and photos, to detail the measures they have undertaken and the results.
It will be a joint government and industry initiative made up of partner organisations who will offer their expertise on agriculture, climate and the wider environment.
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said:
“We need to work together to reach our climate and environment goals. In the Climate Change Plan update, we committed to launching a new and expanded peer to peer knowledge transfer initiative based on the success of our Young Farming Climate Champions work.
“We know there are farmers and crofters who are already doing some fantastic work to help reach these goals. We wanted to create something that would allow them to share their work so that others can take action to mitigate and adapt to climate change, as well as increasing biodiversity.
“One of the benefits of this network will be that we’re making it inclusive by allowing anyone who is taking action on climate and environment to take part. This will allow us to get advice and support from farmers and crofters in every area of Scotland and help inspire others to take action now.”
QMS Director of Market Intelligence and External Affairs Sarah Millar said:
“QMS are delighted to be supporting the Agriculture, Biodiversity and Climate Change Network and the opportunity to showcase the positive actions Scotland’s red meat producers have been making to tackle both the climate and biodiversity emergencies. Farmers can use peer-to-peer knowledge exchange to help embed changes and new practises on their farms, and we look forward to showcasing innovations and good practise as part of the initiative.”
Soil Association Scotland’s senior farming programmes manager Colleen McCulloch said:
“We are delighted to be part of this new network, and to be able to showcase the crucial role farmers and crofters can play to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and increase biodiversity. In times where the amount of information on how to do it can be overwhelming, learning from peers is one of the most powerful ways to inspire and drive change. We believe that sharing the brilliant work being developed on the ground by these fantastic innovators across Scotland will inspire others, providing ideas and starting points to adopt new practices, and be a key part of driving a climate and nature-positive revolution.”
Background
Partner organisations involved are National Farmers’ Union of Scotland (NFUS), SAC Consulting, Soil Association Scotland and Quality Meat Scotland.
Once material has been developed through the ABCCN, it will be published on the Farming For a Better Climate website.
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