Ministers urged to support hill farming and crofting

POLITICIANS were yesterday urged to come up with positive policies that would ensure the future of hill farming and crofting in Scotland.

NFU Scotland's head of rural policy, Jonnie Hall, told a Scottish Parliament committee that the future of the remote hills and islands in Scotland was at a crossroads and that positive policy decisions were now needed if livestock production was to remain the backbone of the local economy.

He said there was a degree of urgency in tackling the issue as livestock numbers had declined dramatically in recent years following the separation of support from actually keeping livestock. Hall accepted that there was a quandary for policy-makers and for the industry itself.

"Do we simply accept this decline in agricultural activity as an inescapable consequence of poor market returns?" he said.

"Or do we recognise the massive social, environmental and economic benefits delivered by the industry and seek innovative solutions to secure its future?"

Answering his own questions he pointed to the potential harm to the rural economy and countryside of a continued downturn in hill farming if affirmative action was not taken to secure its future.

"The ongoing decline in livestock numbers has significant ramifications for local economies, communities, the environment and the red meat supply chain.

"The harsh reality is that making a viable living from hill livestock production is likely to remain a huge challenge and the majority of farms cannot survive without the support payments they receive."

Dr Karen Smyth, rural development manager of the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association, also gave evidence to the rural affairs committee. She had different priorities.

"We believe that support funds should be paid for the delivery of public goods such as water management, soil management, carbon storage and flood management," she said.

In order to achieve this and produce more stability in the farming sector the SRPBA proposed that future CAP funding in Scotland should move to a contract-based approach between the farmer and the public.