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19 August 2014

Showing our best

I am always pleasantly surprised at the collective effort and sheer extent of community spirit across my constituency that results in spectacular events such as the recent Turriff Show.

Even royalty couldn’t keep away as HM the Queen visited the 150th anniversary two-day extravaganza to present a prize and take a look at the best of what the north-east has to offer. In case you’ve never been, the show is the largest two-day show in Scotland and the largest annual event in Aberdeenshire, showcasing the wide wealth of agriculture and food produce to be found in the north east.

Another exemplary feature of the show is its long established ability to attract visitors from overseas, and this year to mark the Homecoming Scotland 2014 celebrations; they were given special attention and hospitality.

If nothing else, the national media that the show courted demonstrates that the expertise of those in the north-eastwhen it comes to agriculture and food and drink production, and indeed across Scotland, is something that is worth being shared.

It was in part with this sentiment that I took part in a recent debate in the Scottish Parliament on the special relationship between Scotland and Malawi. It is a friendship that has existed for many years with many lessons to be learned on both sides of the intercontinental kinship.

At one time, tobacco was a commodity in great demand across Scotland and the UK, and although the demand is still there, it has been greatly reduced due to advancements in science that no longer see it as a health benefit or innocent pastime, and the recognition that the substance causes serious health risks.

However in Malawi, two thirds of the country’s exports are tobacco. With the demand for the weed lessening in the west, we have a duty to help countries such as Malawi evolve to develop a more beneficial type of agriculture. Recent reports stating that tobacco farmers are moving to grow cannabis in order to rake in more profits should also be discouraged, due to the effect it would have on the wider population, many of whom are in desperate need.

We need to take our responsibilities seriously. As a country that once created a demand for the tobacco already mentioned, that is now proving less profitable, we should be helping Malawians find alternative money making crops, and to look at other ways of cultivating the land for their benefit.

Friends are there for each other, and we should also take our part of the blame when it comes to climate change, and the effect that this has on our African neighbours. This makes agriculture a more formidable challenge for many countries in Africa and the developed world is largely responsible. This is why we must support Malawi, and this is already underway with a number of programmes designed to tackle these challenges.

As I said in my speech: “Malawi is an important friend of ours; let us be an ever-important friend of Malawi.”

Our nation has benefitted from great wealth and experience that has taught us many lessons – the least we can do is pass some of that on.

Stewart Stevenson
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