Jamie McGrigor, Highlands & Islands Conservative MSP, has urged the Scottish Government to ensure that its new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) support scheme delivers for Scotland’s farmers and crofters.
Jamie was speaking in today’s Scottish Parliamentary debate on CAP reform, where he highlighted a range of concerns from the farming sector about proposals being consulted on by the Scottish Government.
Speaking in the debate, Jamie said:
"I refer members to my agricultural interests in the register of members’ interests.
"I am pleased to close the debate for the Scottish Conservatives. I agree with those who have spoken about the importance of the two consultations that are under way, and I encourage farming and crofting constituents to take part. If they disagree with the rough grazing region payment options that the NFU suggests, they should suggest alternatives.
"I am very aware that there are strongly held views about the available options and that there is anxiety in the farming sector - particularly in the beef sector, as Jim Hume explained, and among the genuine hill livestock farmers - about the future. I started farming in Argyllshire on severely disadvantaged land in the 1970s. We had the hill livestock compensatory allowance then, which was a headage payment, so we did not have to worry about slipper farmers.
"That made me aware of the importance of the thread of agriculture through many ancillary industries, such as livestock markets, livestock haulage, and the feed and fertiliser businesses. The regular sheep and cattle sales at local markets throughout the Highlands and Islands play a huge part in inhabitants’ social life. It is sad that that important element has diminished as farming has become more difficult...
"...The subsidy element is vital, but farmers would also like less bureaucracy, fewer complicated compliance penalties and a more can-do attitude, which used to exist among Government agricultural departments. They used to be helpful to farmers, but they are now sometimes feared by those who work the land. The amount of paperwork that is required is making farming less productive and less profitable than it could be. Fewer people, and - more important - fewer young people, are therefore being employed in farming.
"When a storm occurs in a rural area with single-track roads, and trees block the roads or drains and culverts are blocked, it is always farmers who come out with their tractors to clear the blockage. If the farmers were not there, they would be sadly missed.
"SNP members have - predictably - used much of their time in the debate to attack the UK Government, but they have conveniently ignored the feeling that the Scottish Government appears to have been outmanoeuvred - or, should I say, outlobbied - in negotiations by the Welsh, the Northern Irish and the English NFU. SNP members and the cabinet secretary might be better employed in engaging with the UK Government in its review of allocations. That is something that the NFUS is keen to do.
"The immediate priority is, of course, for the Scottish Government to come forward with the best possible new scheme. Much concern has been voiced to me by farmers in my region, the Highlands and Islands, especially by hill sheep producers, including representatives of the National Sheep Association and the Blackface Sheep Breeders' Association. As the NFUS said in its letter to the cabinet secretary on Monday this week:
“…the core implementation programme for CAP, as outlined in the Scottish Government’s current consultation, fails to provide a viable support framework for a significant part of Scottish farming. If unchanged, these proposals will exert a downward pressure on production across a number of key sectors".
Jamie continued:
"There has been significant criticism of a decision to have only two payment regions in Scotland. A single rough grazing region, based on a flat rate of Euros per hectare, would inevitably penalise the more intensively stocked hills, which in turn would accelerate de-stocking. It is about numbers. I have talked about the need to retain sheep and cattle on our hills on many occasions in the Parliament and I emphasise that. The farming of sheep and cattle in our hills is fundamental to retaining the population and underpinning the economies of remote rural and island communities, which are often fragile.
"We all accept that splitting the rough grazing region into two or more regions on objective criteria might be difficult, but getting that aspect of the reform right is vital and is more important than having a simple system, as our amendment makes clear. The NFUS briefing gives the example of the Orkney beef and sheep family farm with 100 cows and 130 sheep, which currently receives support payments of around €60,000 on 110 hectares of land, inclusive of the beef calf scheme, but which, under the Government’s proposals, would receive about €32,000, inclusive of the beef calf scheme. That is an indication of the scale of the challenge that some producers will face.
"Some people will say that Orkney is fertile compared with Shetland or the Western Isles, which are all in my region. That is true, but much of Orkney’s economy depends on agriculture and the islands’ reputation for high-quality livestock is second to none, as anyone who cares to visit the annual Orkney show will see for themselves. Agriculture on Orkney is sustainable, but it will not be if it is drawn down to the levels that I have just outlined.
"On areas that are seriously disadvantaged, it is vital that the rough grazing figure is high enough to restore traditional hill farming to a healthy state. Over the past three decades, employment in Highland agriculture has declined because the outputs have consistently outweighed the inputs, despite subsidies. The new CAP must offer and be seen to offer a chance to reverse that.
"Rob Gibson talked about the public good that comes from rocks. He probably meant peatlands, which have been much discussed in the Parliament and are a carbon sink, so they produce a lot of public good. I hope that measures in CAP Pillar 2 will acknowledge that and offer opportunities to restore peatlands. That might help areas such as Sutherland, Wester Ross, and Argyllshire.
"Alex Fergusson was absolutely right to say that farmers need clarity and certainty about the new support regime. Only then can plans be made for the future. The cabinet secretary, God bless him, must ensure that final decisions are made as quickly as possible after the consultations close.
"We support calls from the NFUS for appropriate transitional measures, which are available to the Scottish Government...
"...As the NFUS said, to ignore a more managed approach up to 2019 “would be an abdication of responsibility".
"I support the amendment in the name of my esteemed and respected colleague Alex Fergusson".