Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024

29 Code of Practice on Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture

(1) The Scottish Ministers must prepare and publish a document providing guidance on sustainable and regenerative agriculture within the period of one year beginning with the day on which this section comes into force.

(2) The document is to be called the “Code of Practice on Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture” (and is referred to in this section as “the code”).

(3) The code is to include—

(a) an explanation of what the Scottish Ministers consider to be sustainable and regenerative agriculture,

(b) the agricultural activities and methods which they consider to constitute best practice for sustainable and regenerative agriculture,

(c) such other information and guidance relating to sustainable and regenerative agriculture as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate.

(4) The Scottish Ministers must review and, if they consider it appropriate, revise and publish the code (as so revised) by the end of each review period.

(5) Before publishing the code or any revised code, the Scottish Ministers must lay it before the Scottish Parliament.

(6) The Scottish Ministers must, in preparing or reviewing the code, consult such persons as they consider likely to be interested in or affected by it.

(7) The Scottish Ministers must take such steps as they consider appropriate to promote awareness of the code to persons likely to be affected by it—

(a) after publication of the code (or the code as revised),

(b) at such other times as they consider appropriate.

(8) In this section, “review period” means—

(a) the period of 5 years beginning with the day on which the first code is published, and

(b) each subsequent period of 5 years.