SLE welcomes agriculture policy co-design commitment from the First Minister

Press Release

The views of all farmers and land managers in co-designing future agricultural policy must be taken into account for it to be a long-term success, Scottish Land & Estates said today.

The rural business organisation commented after several key commitments were made by First Minister Humza Yousaf in a speech at the NFU Scotland conference today.

The Scottish Government said it was to gradually return the missing £61million convergence funding to the Scottish agricultural budget. On future funding, the First Minister announced that from 2027, at least 70% of overall agricultural funding will be for tier 1 and 2 direct payments. The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) funding will also be reworked and be available from 2027. 

Eleanor Kay, Senior Policy Adviser – Agriculture & Climate Change at Scottish Land & Estates, said:

“The First Minister has set out the allocation of future funding and this will increase the sector’s confidence to some degree. However, we have repeatedly made the case for impact assessments and modelling data to be produced by government to explain the rationale for such changes and examine how changes to funding will have an effect. We still need to see this produced.

“Considering the challenges of biodiversity, climate change and food security, the Scottish Government must be clear on what balance it is seeking to achieve and how it will deliver a resilient farming sector. We welcome the announcement that the government will continue to support high-quality livestock production – as long as it is sustainable production, we know it can form a key part of ecosystems and habitat restoration.

“We would also like to see Scottish farmers and land managers who are striving to deliver climate adaptation, mitigation and biodiversity work have access to other parts of the Scottish budget, not just through agricultural support. These are national targets and the efforts of farmers and land managers will benefit all of Scotland, not just within the realm of farming.”

SLE added that improved communication with the sector remained key in the years ahead.

Eleanor added: “As we have said throughout this process, communication with all farmers and land managers is what is required to strike an achievable balance between food production, nature restoration and climate mitigation.

“We are pleased that the First Minister has committed to co-design and we hope the government remains true to its word on this. This includes clearer communication and open dialogue on difficult issues. This work cannot simply be left to a narrow grouping such as the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board (ARIOB).”