• Soil Association Scotland has launched its 2026 manifesto, which focuses on three key themes: investing in sustainable and organic farming, delivering a 'Good Food Nation' and stepping up action on climate adaptation and nature restoration.
• Specific policy asks include an increased, multi-year budget for agriculture, a 10% procurement target for organic produce in the public sector, a £10million fund for low density tree planting on farms and crofts and a 10% land target for organic farming.   
• Soil Association Scotland looks at using the public sector, asking the next government to make Food for Life Served Here (FFLSH) Bronze certification mandatory for all local councils, putting Scottish produce and sustainable school meals at the heart of this urgent call.

Action to tackle the "interlinked" climate, nature and dietary health crises must be a priority for the next parliamentary term, according to Soil Association Scotland. 

The charity has launched its manifesto ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election, focusing on three key themes – investing in sustainable farming, delivering a 'Good Food Nation' and stepping up action on climate adaptation and nature restoration. 

Soil Association Scotland outlines the need to support a transition to low input, agroecological and organic farming and crofting, using public procurement to drive demand for sustainable and organic Scottish produce, and encouraging reduced consumption of ultra processed foods.

The manifesto also calls for a scaling up the restoration of degraded peatland, incentivising regenerative forestry practices, encouraging landowners to collaborate at landscape and catchment scale and ensuring natural capital opportunities are available to small and medium sized farms as well as larger farms and estates. 

There are costed examples such as a £10m fund for low-density agroforestry, developing in partnership with Woodland Trust Scotland, and specific targets for delivery, including a 10% target for organic ingredients in public procurement and a 10% land share for organic farming. 

Soil Association Scotland also calls for the next government to make Food for Life Served Here Bronze certification mandatory for all local councils, putting Scottish produce and sustainable school meals at the heart of this urgent call. FFLSH bronze certification prioritises farm assurance schemes such as Quality Meat Scotland red meat and Red Tractor chicken.

Soil Association Scotland Co-Director David McKay said: "The new parliamentary term offers an opportunity to refresh the policy agenda, with a greater focus on the interlinked climate, nature and dietary health crises. 

"Agricultural policy must incentivise farmers and crofters to adopt low input, nature friendly approaches, building farm business resilience in the face of a changing climate.

"And more broadly, there is scope to go further and faster on peatland restoration, regenerative forestry as well as the careful integration of trees on farms and crofts."

Soil Association Scotland Co-Director Sarah Duley said: "There is a huge opportunity to use the power of public procurement to deliver on the objectives of the Good Food Nation. 

"Investing in public sourcing can address multiple policy challenges at once, supporting local economic growth by getting more sustainable Scottish food on the table, improving children's dietary health, and protecting the environment.

"Rebalancing diets away from the current over-consumption of Ultra Processed Foods should also be a public health priority in the next parliament."

To read the full Soil Association Scotland manifesto: https://www.soilassociation.org/our-work-in-scotland/our-policy-work/soil-association-scotlands-2026-manifesto/