SNP-Green farm funding reform fails nature with 'status quo'

The campaign, led by Scottish Environment LINK and advised by farmers' groups, is calling for the Scottish Government to reduce "the proportion of the budget spent on payments per area with few environmental requirements” and ensure that “by 2026 at least three quarters of public spending on farming to support methods that restore nature and tackle climate change while producing food”.

Currently only 5% of the budget, it says, is being spent on supporting farmers to deliver targeted environmental benefits through dedicated environment support payments.

More than two-thirds of the Scottish government’s £650 million farm support budget is being paid, instead, to farmers based on how much and what type of land they farm, with very few conditions attached as to how they manage the land.

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The climate impacts, however, of agriculture are huge. Figures published in June showed that it was the largest source of Scottish emissions in 2021 (after transport) - lending strength to the argument that radical reform is needed and Scotland’s new agriculture legislation an opportunity for change.

But a financial memorandum published alongside the Scottish Government's bill outlines four tiers of funding and states that the majority of support is going to be retained in tier 1, the basic (area-based) payment, and tier 2, the advanced payment,  “at similar levels to current direct support”.

Deborah Long, chief officer of Scottish Environment LINK which coordinates the campaign, said: “Under this proposed plan, most of the money would go to area-based ‘direct payments’, which require farmers to meet very few environmental conditions and which result in those with the most land receiving most money, or to payments with only light-touch environmental requirements.”

The plan would mean, said Vicki Swales, head of land use policy at RSPB Scotland,  “the vast majority of the money is still wrapped up in these area-based payments with relatively light touch environmental conditions attached”.

“If they stick with that,” said Ms Swales, “effectively more than 80% of the budget would be wrapped up in those basic payments leaving very little for what they’re calling tier 3 and tier 4, which would be around things like nature restoration, shorter supply chains, and also the advisory and knowledge transfer and information stuff that they need to do with farmers to help them make this transition in terms of knowledge and information.”

“We know that’s not going to deliver what we need in terms of delivering for nature and also reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meeting climate targets.”

That 'status quo' however aligns well with what the National Farmers Union Scotland called for earlier this year. In May, the union wrote to Mairi Gougeon, the minister for rural affairs, asking that 80% of public funding be delivered as direct support, in tier 1 or tier 2, and that 50% of this must be through tier 1.

NFUS president Martin Kennedy said: “Quite simply, guaranteeing that existing direct support will be delivered as both conditional area-based and action-based payments, in Tiers 1 and 2 respectively, will ensure farmers and crofters tackle the triple challenge of food, climate and biodiversity head on and will see rural communities thrive.”

The funding reform also comes at a time when farmers are facing a £28 million slash in support funding due to budget cuts this year.

Mr Kennedy wrote,  ast week, in a letter to the first minister,  "The decision to remove £28 million from the agriculture budget this year truly beggars’ belief, particularly at a time when many farmers and crofters across the country are genuinely struggling to remain viable due to spiralling production costs, low market returns, volatile weather and increasing levels of regulation.

But many crofters and farmers of small holdings say that the current funding system does not support them. Ruth Ashton-Shaw and her husband bought Low Auldgirth a small- holding in Dumfries and Galloway almost a decade ago and never really intended on becoming organic farmers, but found as they experimented that this nature-friendly way seemed the most resilient.

Dumfries and Galloway farmer Ruth Ashton-Shaw (Image: Asthton-Shaw)

The more conventional approaches that they tried initially seemed both hard and unprofitable - and they soon turned to regenerative techniques, centred on soil health.

Ms Ashton-Shaw observed that farming in a nature-friendly way has meant their business has become more resilient and the farm isn’t affected as severely by extreme weather or fluctuating markets increasing the costs of inputs. This allows them to continue to "provide to their customers at a set price, as costs are so much easier to manage".

“By working with nature and following natural cycles," she said, "our farm has become not only a profitable business but a resilient one too. We’re producing high-quality sustainable food, as well as improving biodiversity and creating a healthier environment to live in.”

There are also, according to Euan Ross, Scotland manager for the Nature-Friendly Farming Network, other urgent reasons, beyond climate mitigation and biodiversity, for optimising funding towards nature solutions and nature-friendly farming.

Euan Ross, Scotland manager of Nature-friendly Farming Network (Image: Euan Ross)

He said: "This is also about security. We saw with Storm Babet this year how extreme weather events are already impacting Scotland's people and finances. Farmer and crofter livelihoods are one of the first to be damaged by flooding, droughts and landslides which are only set to increase.

“We need the funding system to safeguard farm businesses by incentivising nature-friendly farming practices that increase climate resilience. Current direct payments do not deliver food and financial security as they leave the system vulnerable to climatic events and change."

Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “I welcome the response from Farm for Scotland’s Future on the Agriculture Bill. We share a common goal in ensuring Scotland will become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.

“The Bill will enable a future payments framework that incentivises those low carbon approaches to improve the resilience, efficiency and the profitability of the sector but which also continues to support sustainable food production.

“We are committed to shifting half of all funding for farming and crofting from unconditional to conditional by 2025. That work is well underway, with announcements made earlier this year.

“As we move forward our Bill will allow for adaptive support for farmers, crofters and land managers in the near, medium and long term future. The draft legislation enables tailored provisions to be produced and adapted as required.”