Greater environmental focus in agricultural consultation welcome – but further crucial detail needed

Press Release

Change needed to enable a bright future for Scottish farming and land management can be delivered by new agriculture legislation – but a significant lack of detail needs to be addressed rapidly by government.

Responding to a consultation regarding a new agriculture bill for Scotland, rural business organisation Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) said outline proposals would provide significant powers to the Scottish Government, but substantial effort was needed to build on this ‘broad framework’ and allay the concerns of the sector.

It is anticipated that future public subsidies will continue to support farming businesses but a far greater emphasis will be placed on also using land to aid the drive to net zero whilst supporting nature recovery.

Stephen Young, Head of Policy at Scottish Land & Estates, said: “The consultation outlines the considerable powers that the Scottish Government will have to direct farming and land management – and the payment systems that support that activity post-Common Agricultural Policy – for decades to come.

“Scottish Land & Estates is supportive of a framework that will enable support for agriculture but with greater emphasis on using land to sequestrate carbon and encourage wildlife and biodiversity to thrive. Our farming sector can play a huge part in this shift if innovation is encouraged and supported.

“World-class food production in Scotland will be maintained but there is no doubt that change is on the horizon. In many respects, the Scottish Government has missed a crucial opportunity in this consultation to provide the detail needed about future support to enable farmers and land managers to plan ahead before likely implementation in 2025/2026. This creates conjecture and a void of information for those in the sector and we do not believe it is appropriate for these gaps to be filled through secondary legislation in parliament.”

The consultation itself is split into six parts to reflect the proposals that the Scottish Government is considering for possible inclusion in the new bill. As well as outlining a four-tier payment regime, other parts of the consultation examine the delivery of key outcomes and skills, knowledge transfer and innovation as well as agricultural holdings proposals.

Stephen added: “We largely agree with the four tiers of payments, albeit with some concern about how easy the system will be to understand and administer, along with a lack of clarity on what the total budget will be. There is a real danger that the budget will not be sufficient to meet the multitude of requirements being placed upon it.

“SLE has consistently said there needed to be a base level of support, with 50% of payments made to support active farming businesses, and we’re pleased by that plan. More clarity is needed on the detail within the various tiers of support but we want to see grants to help investment in long term climate and biodiversity friendly projects as well as tools in place that can measure existing and future biodiversity and carbon outcomes.

“While we are supportive of the principle of tenants taking part in environmental schemes and payments, the consultation does not seem to consider or analyse what is currently possible within existing leases. We must make sure that we are making full use of existing provisions and providing guidance if needed before creating further legislation which may not be required.

“Land management is complex, and decisions cannot be made in isolation, but with the right support Scotland’s land can play its full part in fighting climate change, restoring nature and producing food in accord with each other. Land managers are ready to move at pace once we know what government believes will constitute success – and how that success will be measured.”