THE letter from Angus MacDonald (October 21) demonstrates the bitterness towards the decline in crofting agriculture that is felt by many people whose hearts are still in the Highlands and the land of their ancestors, even though they themselves may have travelled far from home.

Mr MacDonald is not alone in his belief that the crofting system is failing. Indeed, this was acknowl­edged by the Scottish Govern­­ment itself in 2010 when the then minister with responsibility for crofting, Stewart Stevenson, said that the legislation it was passing in that year was to "change a failing system".

One of the areas that the Government chose to focus on then was that of absenteeism. Although Mr MacDonald describes some instances where absenteeism has not led to neglect of land, there are examples from other crofting areas which do seem to show a correlation between absenteeism and neglect. More work needs to be done to confirm if this is true on a wider basis, and the crofting census will do useful work if it helps to give more information on this issue.

But absenteeism is only part of the problem. While the Government creates ever more administrative burdens for crofters (such as the census, and the much criticised duty-to-report), it has also created, as Mr MacDonald rightly notes, funding support systems that have acceler­ated the destruction of vibrant tradi­tional agricultural practices and working patterns.

This insidious process has happened gradually over generations in a way that the Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) has described as "manipulation by subsidy". This strategy for funding agriculture is the result of a strong belief held by policymakers in the late 20th century that food production should be highly industrialised and money apportioned accordingly. It is now widely understood that this way of doing agriculture is failing.

For all these difficulties, it is important to remember that, for many, crofting is more than a "pastime" and that the money that flows to crofting communities through the marts in Dingwall and elsewhere is keeping families on the land and in the Highlands.

Mr MacDonald asks if there really are aspiring young crofters looking for land. The answer is that, despite the challenges, hopes spring eternal in the young breast, such that several hundred people have asked to be put on a register of interest in obtaining a croft. This register is maintained by the SCF. The organisation also runs an introduction to crofting course in areas throughout the Highlands and Islands. These are extremely well attended, mainly by very capable and enthusiastic younger people, many of whom are desperately seeking a croft.

Unfortunately, the over-complicated system of legal rights makes it very difficult for many of these young people to access land. The lack of an incentive to croft needs to be challenged and the difficulty people face in getting access to croft land needs to be challenged. The needs and the voices of these young people must be heard. To this end the Scottish Crofting Federation is working to support a network of younger people to put forward their aspirations and requirements for crofting in the years and decades to come.

It is really important that young people who desire to work and live on the land get involved in this work as it builds over the next few years. It also needs the support and involvement of the many older people like Mr MacDonald, who still have a passion for crofting land use. One area where the Scottish Government could help would be to support a worthwhile "outgoers" scheme to encourage and reward older and now-inactive crofters to pass on their crofts to younger aspiring crofters.

But ultimately it is not going to be government which will fix the crofting system. This repair job needs to grow from the ground up.

Fiona Mandeville (Vice-Chair, Scottish Crofting Federation); Iain MacKinnon (Research Fellow in CAWR, Coventry University),

Unit 26, Scottish Crofting Federation, Kyle Industrial Estate, Kyle of Localsh.