Farmers and land managers' rallying call to secure future funding

Last Thursday (28 November) saw hundreds of farmers, land managers and stakeholder organisations descend on the Scottish Parliament to ask the Scottish Government for more clarity on future agriculture funding ahead of the budget announcement on 4 December.

The rally, organised by NFU Scotland, was addressed by speakers from a number of farming organisations, including the Scottish Association of Young Farmers and the rural charity RSABI. MSPs from the Conservative, SNP and Liberal Democrat parties also spoke in support of the farmers: 

• Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon MSP
• Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, Jim Fairlie MSP 
• Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, Russell Findlay MSP
• Scottish Conservative Party Spokesperson for Rural Affairs, Tim Eagle MSP
• Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP

Unfortunately, Labour and Green MSPs were absent, despite being invited along to speak to the crowd. 

The team from the Scottish Countryside Alliance (SCA) and their members attended the rally to show their support for Scottish farming. Director for Scotland, Jake Swindells, said:

“It is absolutely key that the Scottish Government listens to what we have to say today. We know there is a small pot of money to be shared out thinly across many different sectors in Scotland, but agriculture is the cornerstone of rural Scotland, and our voices must be heard today.”

We spoke to a number of Conservative and SNP MSPs attending the rally to reiterate our calls for adequate funding for the rural sector. We will be meeting with Tim Eagle soon to discuss rural issues linked to our campaign.

The SCA are calling for the Scottish Government to address several areas ahead of this week’s budget announcement for 2025/26:

• Championing farmers and producers by providing multi-annual agricultural funding to provide financial stability for farmers, crofters and producers, ensuring food security for the future.
• Investment in rural connectivity by upgrading Scotland’s road networks in rural areas and providing a reliable public transport network to serve and connect rural communities.
• Adequate funding allocation for deer and wildlife management to enhance biodiversity and nature recovery throughout Scotland’s vast and varied landscape.