National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Scotland has renewed its call for improvements to Scotland’s public food procurement system following a co-hosted roundtable meeting.

It has urged Scottish Government and other public sector organisations to adopt a ‘Scottish First’ approach that puts local farmers, crofters and growers “at the heart of public sector food supply”.

The Procurement Roundtable, hosted on Friday 28th November, brought together the Union and the Public Sector Catering Alliance (PSCA), which included key procurement bodies, public sector catering representatives and food producers to discuss how the system can better support Scottish produce.

Key discussions included:

• The important role of data to establish a baseline of the current food procurement landscape.
• The challenging circumstances facing the public catering sector.
• The need for collaborative leadership to drive meaningful change to address the systemic challenges. 

Jayne Jones, chair of PSCA, said: “This roundtable discussion was an important event that gave public sector caterers, NFUS and others the opportunity to listen to different perspectives, better understand the current challenges, and identify opportunities for more aligned working.

“The last roundtable between the public sector and NFUS took place back in 2019, with John Swinney, who was Cabinet Secretary for Education at the time, leading the discussion. This time, we had the opportunity to explore the current food systems landscape in Scotland, and the session was long overdue.” 

NFU Scotland highlighted that over the past decade, Scotland’s public procurement landscape has undergone “significant transformation”, shaped by sustainability goals, new legislation and trade developments. But there has been no tangible progress in supporting more domestic growers and producers securing public sector contracts, said NFU Scotland.

Despite the Scottish Government publishing its draft Good Food Nation National Plan earlier in the year – setting out a long-term vision for food in Scotland – NFU Scotland said the National Plan “missed a key opportunity to embed local sourcing within public procurement”. The Union argued that such an approach would “deliver real benefits” for the environment, the economy, and local communities.  

NFU Scotland warned that recent decisions that reduce the levels of local sourcing, with a growing focus on low-cost imported products instead, were “even more concerning”. Through months of campaigning, the Union said it has repeatedly highlighted that this trend contradicts the ambitions of the Good Food Nation.

NFU Scotland president Andrew Connon said: “The food served in Scotland’s schools, hospitals and care homes should reflect the quality of what we produce here. Farmers and crofters across the country are delivering world-class food to the highest standards – yet the system often limits the ability of the public sector to utilise local produce.

“We want to see a Scottish First approach, where local, fresh and sustainably produced food is prioritised and properly valued. That means reforming the way contracts are awarded, ensuring that cost and quality are adequately balanced, and making sure budgets can realistically support high-quality, local food.”