Crofting 'can weather storm of the recession'

CROFTERS have been assured they can survive the tough economic climate by innovation and collaboration

Delivering a keynote address to the Scottish Crofting Foundation annual meeting in Oban, environment minister Roseanna Cunningham said organisations are having to consider how to live within a drastically reduced budget from Westminster.

But she insisted: "If there was ever an industry that can weather this storm it will be crofting.

"History has demonstrated the resilience of crofting. It has been diversifying long before diversification was in the dictionary.

"The care and attention that goes into crofting produce is reflected within its quality, and there is always demand for quality produce. Crofters must continue to work collaboratively to build and supply markets, for this is the way forward.

"Innovation and collaboration are key drivers for the whole rural economy. Our rural communities and businesses can play a vital role in meeting the food, energy and environmental challenges of the nation."

Ms Cunningham also told the meeting the Crofting Reform Act, which gained Royal Assent this summer, will safeguard the future of crofting. The bill will reform the Crofters' Commission to allow elected board members and strengthen its powers to prevent the loss of croft land, and to reduce absenteeism.

A new croft register is planned which some say will be costly and bureaucratic.

Ms Cunningham said: "Not everyone agrees with the way the Register will work, but an awful lot of thinking went into devising a register that will deliver the outcomes we all want.

"Drawing lines on the existing administrative Register of Crofts would have been meaningless, and would not have had the same legal effect as what we have now delivered."