Russell meets new friends at Rural Property Association

Published on Wednesday 14 May 2008 20:18

MIKE Russell, Scotland's environment minister, discovered a host of new friends yesterday when he addressed the annual general meeting of the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association in Edinburgh.

This organisation, known as the Scottish Landowners' Federation before a rebranding four years ago, was widely regarded in the past as being earnest but ineffective. That has all changed, as Russell made clear, especially following a year of much greater collaboration and consultation than was evident during the eight years of the Labour and Lib Dem coalition.

He said: "This Scottish Government has a clear vision of a prosperous and flourishing rural sector with people engaged in profitable businesses. The biggest lesson I have learned in the past year is just how inter-dependent are all rural interests. We have a great natural environment in Scotland, but it is held on trust for future generations. We must continue to work together."

Russell said rural Scotland was no "basket case" and that people who lived and worked in the countryside were generally both well educated and highly skilled. He added that a higher proportion of those living in rural areas were economically active than their counterparts in the conurbations.

On prices, Russell said: "Agricultural incomes are always affected by global prices and the long-term outlook is good for those involved in the primary sector, but there will always be checks and balances."

He said that, although prices for cereals, beef, milk and sheep have risen appreciably in recent months, values needed to be still higher to ensure that farmers made a decent living, a return on their capital investment and a margin over vastly increased feed costs.

Scotland can never compete in global terms on price alone, but Russell argued that the industry was already on the correct path. He said: "Scotland produces some of the highest quality food that it is possible to put on the plate, and there are opportunities out there for growth."

However, since the reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy became effective in 2005, production, especially in the livestock sectors, has declined. The Cap reforms are shortly to be subject to a "health check".

Russell made it clear that the SNP administration would resist any moves that were perceived not to be in the best interests of Scotland, but claimed that this would be much easier to argue if independence from the rest of the UK was a reality.

Russell said: "We intend to publish a consultative paper when we see the proposals from Brussels, but change is inevitable and we have to think hard about what we want and what will be the best deal for rural Scotland."

The previous administration introduced major reforms in the legislation relating to the landlord-and-tenant sector. The aim was to see more farms being let, but this has happened only to a limited extent, with landowners being wary of seeing their capital value reduced. Russell's judgment is that landowners must take a broader perspective.

He said: "It is your obligation to adopt a longer-term view. We in government want to see tenants rewarded for their dedication and contribution to rural Scotland. You have to play a part in that process."

In a wide range of questions after the minister's speech, John Don, who farms in Aberdeenshire, suggested that if Scottish agriculture was to remain competitive then it must embrace genetically modified (GM) crops and the government should convince the public that there are no risks to health or the environment.

Russell's response was direct: "I disagree. We have to take a precautionary stance because we simply do not know enough about GM. If we went down the route you suggest and tangle with GM we run the risk of losing far more than we would ever gain. The Scottish environment and its image are so important."