ALMOST half of Scottish farmers are earning less than the minimum wage, according to figures produced by the Scottish Government.
Farming income has fallen by tens of thousands of pounds in the last five years, meaning around 45 per cent of farm businesses would not have have been able to meet the legal minimum agricultural wage of £7.20 per hour last year without help from subsidies.
Opponents of the SNP have blamed Scottish Government “blunders” such as the well-documented delays to thousands of EU subsidy payments for the declining state of the rural economy, saying that thousands have been left out of pocket.
However, the National Farming Union (NFU) say the problem has been driven by a “broken” supply chain with supermarkets and wholesalers not passing on profits to those who work the land.
According to the official Annual Estimates of Scottish Farm Business Income (FBI) report, the average income of farms after expenses has dropped from £49,301 in 2011/12 to £26,402 in 2016/17.
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Scottish Liberal Democrat rural affairs spokesperson Mike Rumbles MSP said the Scottish Government must be held to account for the drop, with almost a quarter of farm businesses now operating at a loss.
Mr Rumbles said: “A series of Scottish Government blunders has left our rural economy reeling while thousands of local businesses have been left out of pocket. It is no surprise that farm income has slipped back over the past five years.
“Farm support is worth over £500 million to our rural economy, every year. But over the past three years we have seen bungle after bungle and months of delay. That is money that should be circulating our rural economy, not sitting in Scottish Government coffers.
“Our agricultural sector can only take so much strain, with thousands of farm businesses struggling to make ends meet. Ministers must now see the warning signs and start to take action to put our rural economy back on track.”
NFU Scotland said that "from farm to plate" the value of the Scottish food and drink sector is growing but profits are not making it back to the farm gate.
NFU Scotland Chief Executive Scott Walker said: “There are two key messages that should be taken from the figures that have been published on farm incomes.
"The first is that 45 per cent of farms in the survey are not able to pay the farmer, spouse and other working family members a rate of pay equal to the minimum agricultural wage.
“The second is that without the financial support payments these farms receive they would make a loss. “
He added: “Until we can address the inequalities in the supply chain Government support for the industry remains essential and must not be threatened due to Brexit.
"We have the ambition to double the size of the food and drinks sector in Scotland by 2030 but if all are to benefit from this we will need to radically rethink the supply chain so that the hard work of farmers and their families is valued, and that a fair sustainable price is paid for what they produce.”
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According to the officials statistic, the situation has improved since last year when farming incomes fell to record lows.
Incomes from commercial farms in Scotland have increased by around 94 per cent since 2015/16, while average farm business income rose by around £12,800.
However, farm income had decreased 46 per cent (£22,900) in real terms up until last year.
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “These stats have nothing to do with the delivery of CAP payments. Eligible farmers have already received loan payments worth nearly a third of a billion Pounds earlier than ever before to specifically ensure that they are not out of pocket.
“The Farm Business Income figures actually show an increase in average farm income for 2016/17, which represents a recovery from the low incomes seen in the previous year.
"Worth around £500 million, the statistics show the importance of continued EU funding to Scotland’s farmers in supporting jobs and sustaining rural businesses.
"That is why we continue to push the UK Government for clarification on how future funding guarantees will operate in practice and on what the replacement funding arrangements will be post-Brexit.”
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