Holyrood has been responsible for delivering funding to our farming sector for some time now and this, coupled with the recently elected Labour government, has caused many difficulties, and a lot of upset in rural Scotland of late. Our SNP government clearly doesn’t feel like it needs the support of the rural sector to remain in power, so our countryside becomes the centre of focus when it comes to legislation that causes significant adverse effects, often originating from funding cuts in key areas.
During the recent budget announcement, the Scottish Government have allocated over £660 million in funding for Scottish farmers, crofters, land managers and rural communities. This includes £20 million in a new support plan for farming and food production, £35.5 million to help fund the restoration of more than 15,000 Ha of degraded peatland, and £53 million to the forestry sector to create in excess of 11,000 Ha of woodland across Scotland. £9 million has been proposed for the Islands Programme to enhance essential infrastructure and to help with the increased cost of living in these areas. £14.5 million has been allocated to Marine Fund Scotland to support innovation in the industry. In real terms, the day-to-day spending by the Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands budget is set to fall by 3.1%.
We supported calls to retain multi-annual funding for the agriculture sector, however this has not been taken forward by the Scottish Government. Future funding will likely be guaranteed until 2026, maintaining a level of uncertainty for the farming and rural community in Scotland beyond that date.
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 agricultural funding. The speeches given by The SNP seemed upbeat and positive, but the reality is likely to be different. 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. Amongst these were 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 and leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP. Labour and Green MSPs were notably absent, despite being invited along to speak.
The team from the Scottish Countryside Alliance along with many of our members, attended the rally to show their support for Scottish farming. We spoke to a number of MSPs to reiterate our calls for adequate funding for both agriculture and the rural sector in general. We will be meeting with Tim Eagle soon to discuss the rural aspects linked to our campaign that we intend to work on throughout 2025. The Scottish Countryside Alliance is calling for the Scottish Government to address several areas that are considered vital:
To anyone who lives and works in the British countryside, it is evident that things are getting harder. Fuel is expensive, licences are required for pretty much everything to do with land management and now the new Labour Governments’ budget plans are set to cripple an already struggling community. In Holyrood, Scottish Labour MSP’s defend the position that Labour has taken in relation to inheritance tax in farming, instead deflecting, as Rachel Reeves MP continually does, towards the existing debt that our country is in. We seek justification but all we get is blame.
The Scottish Countryside Alliance, however, is delighted that we have been invited to sit on a new committee, chaired by Mr Fairlie, to discuss how we can better work with the Scottish Government in relation to both land and wildlife management. This is a superb opportunity for us to work with Ministers and MSP’s as new legislation is created. Our aim in to encourage policy makers to engage with us at an earlier stage, and in most cases prior to public consultation, so that we are able to steer any proposed legislation, making sure that it is evidence-led and backed up by sound scientific research. All too often, legislation has been passed with opinion being favoured over facts, and pressure from both Greens and their supporters has no doubt played its part. All we will be asking for is an opportunity to present sensible and sound advice before pen is put to paper in a meaningful way. We hope this is not too much to ask.
This article was first published in Farming Scotland magazine.