Speaking at Holyrood, South Scotland MSP Sharon Dowey told of the “stress and anguish” of staff at The Coo Shed, a popular farm shop site in Ayr.
It followed the closure of a key road close to the farm for four months, which impacted traffic and sales.
The Conservative MSP asked the government what action it would take to support farming businesses that are seeking to diversify.
Jim Fairlie, minister for agriculture and connectivity, said: “The Scottish Government strongly supports farming businesses to diversify, providing businesses with a range of income streams and stimulating the rural economy.
“We provide support to plant and manage trees, and provide advice, events and courses on business resilience and diversification through the Farm Advisory Service and Skills Hub Scotland.
“We give funding to Scottish Agritourism to assist agritourism businesses that keep multiple generations of farming families in employment in rural areas, which is really important, and provide support to help businesses to promote and sell their produce locally and regionally.”
Ms Dowey said: “Annually, farms that have diversified bring millions of pounds to Scotland’s economy, and the services that they offer can include farm shops, garden centres, milk vending machines, coffee shops and camping pods.
“However, their rural location means that infrastructure and signage is key to allowing customers to find them.
“Businesses face major barriers in obtaining signage for opening up and directional signage when improvements are made to main roads.
“The Coo Shed in my local area received no prior communication that its main access road was to close for four months.
“The closure impacted customers, farm suppliers, milk tankers and the company’s sales, causing unnecessary stress and anguish.
“What discussions can the minister have with his colleagues in other portfolios to make major improvements to that process?”
Mr Fairlie responded: “That is a really important question, and I take it in the spirit in which it was asked. As far as signage is concerned, that is a transport issue, and I will take that away.
“As far as access to a local business is concerned, I am more than happy to meet Sharon Dowey to discuss that specific issue.
“Connectivity is part of my portfolio, so I will follow up on the specific issues of signage and what we can do to help with that.”