FOUR 'Agriculture Champions' have been appointed by the Scottish Government to advise on the development of a strategy for the sector.

It is hoped that these agri-champs will help guide Scottish farming towards a long-term sustainable future, by helping formulate policies to increase profitability and boost innovation, production and sustainability.

The four, and their assigned subjects, are:

• Henry Graham, Scottish Chair of Lantra, who will work on education and training;

• Archie Gibson, chair of the Scottish Food and Drink Federation, who will deal with food and drink;

• John Kinnaird, farmer and former NFUS president, who will look at sustainability;

• Marion MacCormick, Aldi buying director, who will keep an eye on 'public value'.

The announcement was made by Rural Economy Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewing at a Farming and Food Summit held in Edinburgh today. He said: “I welcome our Agricultural Champions to their new roles and look forward to working with them to deliver on our commitment to develop a strategy to inform the long term sustainable future of our agriculture sector.

“Today’s summit brings together stakeholders from across both food and farming to look at how we build relationships between Scotland’s producers and their markets, alongside addressing the challenges being faced by rural businesses.

“Of course, we can’t ignore the wider political and economic implications of leaving the European Single Market and the summit is an opportunity to address the impact for farming and food production," said Mr Ewing. “These sectors are particularly reliant upon our continued access to free movement of labour and wider EU support. I am committed to fully engaging with stakeholders to understand the challenges they face as a result of the Brexit decision.”