This last weekend, I was delighted to visit the New Deer Agricultural Show, where I met with the local members of the National Farmers' Union.

Like our fishermen, local farmers are a breed apart – hardy men with no fear of hard work – and I greatly value the opportunity to meet with them on a personal basis, to hear at first hand of the issues they face daily.

There wouldn't be many who would choose to enter farming for their love of paperwork and form-filling. Though many of them have risen to the challenge of the sheer weight of bureaucracy that they have to contend with, I am firmly of the opinion that much needs to be done to simplify the administrative systems with which they must engage.

When I started out in my professional career in the civil service many years ago, in what was then known as MAFF, the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, my mandate was to do all that I could to assist those industries to develop and grow in the most efficient and profitable way possible – and that is a mind-set to which we must return.

Far too much energy is wasted going into ways of stopping things from happening – our job as politicians is to make things happen!

It was after a meeting with NFUS members at New Deer Agricultural Show last summer that I pledged to introduce a truly independent panel to deal with appeals to SEERAD as part of an SNP administration in Holyrood after the election. Since coming into power, we have discovered that, under the previous administration, nearly 700 Single Farm Payment claimants in 2005 and 2006 had penalties totalling over £1¼ million applied to their claims due to errors found within the completed forms.

I believe that much more could be done to address this at an earlier stage in the process, failing which, an independent appeals panel is crucial to ensure fairness and transparency.

That is why we are having early discussions with key stakeholders on general issues surrounding the implementation of the common agricultural policy, and will also be undertaking a review of the EU agricultural subsidies appeals procedure.

Of course, Agricultural Shows are not just for the farmers – they are for all the family – and it was great to meet with so many visitors to the New Deer Show, both young and old. A wide range of events provided entertainment and competition for both spectators and participants alike, and such events are also a valuable showcase for local businesses, manufacturers and retailers, at which they can present their quality products to a large number of people.

I also take the opportunity on show days to set some time aside to hold a parliamentary surgery, when I can set about the serious business of assisting my constituents with their problems.

My job as a parliamentarian has many facets, some of them are very high profile and conducted in the glare of camera lights, and some involve dealing with famous people; but the part that I enjoy best, always has, and always will be, meeting with the people that I was elected to represent – and doing the best I can to help them.

The next Agricultural Show in my diary is the world-famous Turriff Show, when I can again look forward to meeting with local farmers and constituents – and, hopefully, catch up with the gypsy fortune-teller, who so confidently predicted that I would become the First Minister of Scotland.

Summer road safety campaign

POLICE forces across Scotland have combined in a summer road safety campaign targeted on the 'persistent minority' of motorists who think they can ignore the drink-drive limit.

We have all seen the devastating effects caused by those who drink and drive. Every day it seems people are prepared to take a risk in the misguided assumption that it either won't happen to them or that they won't be caught. One in seven road deaths in Scotland is a result of drink-driving.

Police forces across Scotland are always vigilant to drink-driving, but this campaign means you're more likely than ever to be stopped, breathalysed and prosecuted.

Drugs strategy priority

THREE reports on methadone treatment were published this week, the findings of which will help formulate a key part of a new strategy for tackling drug misuse in Scotland.

My government has vowed to ensure that better support services are made available to help more methadone users get off drugs and back into healthy, productive lives.

I welcome these reports and will discuss in detail with all those who have an interest how best the findings can be taken forward.

The true scale of the challenge we face is now clear for all to see. As a government we will not take sides in the debate between the 'just say no' and the 'harm reduction' lobbies. There is a place for both approaches.

It is clear that methadone does have an important part to play in tackling heroin addiction. The benefits it can bring in terms of harm reduction are well established.

Methadone can stabilise chaotic lives and has a positive impact on the lives of many people who are treated with it. Experts have concluded that it is entirely appropriate for methadone to be the major element of the treatment available for opiate dependency.

The report makes clear that there are, however, areas of concern about the use of methadone. Tackling those areas is a key priority for us. That means improving service delivery; improving consistency of provision; and, above all, improving integration of methadone treatment with the extra support needed to achieve the ultimate goal of recovery from addiction.

Although rarely highlighted, the benefits of methadone are considerable and should not be understated. Injecting drug users put themselves at significant risk of contracting blood-borne viruses such as Hepatitis C from sharing injecting equipment. Bacterial infections from non-sterile equipment are also common, as is vascular damage arising from long-term drug use.

Put simply, involvement in a methadone treatment programme means a drug addict no longer needs to inject drugs.

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