WE’RE hurtling towards COP26 without any clear idea of how a sector responsible for 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions is to be expected to play its part in Scotland’s net-zero journey.

The agricultural industry is desperate for information on what future support policy is to replace the antiquated Common Agricultural Policy, but the Scottish Government continues to be shy on detail.

In 2020, former rural affairs cabinet secretary Fergus Ewing set up a number of Farmer Led Groups (FLGs), covering different sectors within agriculture such as dairy and arable, with a view to engaging with active farmers on how a future scheme could reward farmers and crofters for producing food in an efficient and environmentally friendly way.

These farmers gave up huge amounts of their time to feed into what will be a bespoke government policy more suited to the needs of Scottish agriculture, and with the support of the wider industry, delivered their findings in March this year.

The process was interrupted by the Scottish parliamentary election, but there have been no announcements or commitments made to deliver these recommendations into action since, despite the Scottish Government declaring a climate emergency which will require farming on the frontline addressing it.

The First Minister did promise to set up an implementation board within the SNP’s first 100 days in government, however, this cannot be yet another discussion group. There have been countless talking shops over the past few years, many of which recommendations remain shelved, gathering dust. It is imperative that this board is announced as soon as possible, and it acts swiftly to deliver on these recommendations as farming is a long-term game, with business plans looking way beyond the expiry date of any government.

Last week, two major reports were published by Scotland’s agricultural sector, the conclusions of the Farming for 1.5° inquiry and the publication of the National Farming Union of Scotland’s (NFUS) proposals for future support. Both have acknowledged a need for a transformation in farming in order to meet ambitious climate change targets and the authors of NFUS’s report stressed that “the time to act was yesterday.”

The future model they have proposed involves a baseline of income support for farmers and crofters conditional on their delivery of food production, alongside environmental and biodiversity goods.

Their proposals pull together all of the recommendations of the FLGs into a single coherent approach, which the authors argue will work for farm businesses of all types and sizes across Scotland. NFUS’s director of policy, Jonnie Hall, stressed that future policy can no longer be about binary choices, noting that for the first time in the history of agricultural policy, it must meet the requirements of food production, emissions reduction, and biodiversity, simultaneously.

Under the CAP, Scotland received around £580 million in support from the EU. With Treasury purse strings tightened by the ongoing pressures of the Covid pandemic, the good news is that farming isn’t asking for more money but has identified existing funding streams and is asking for a deployment of budgets into key areas.

Gone must be the days of slipper farming, support should only be given to active farmers who can demonstrate to the taxpayer that they are delivering on multiple fronts.

The Farming for 1.5° inquiry has called for a reduction in total emissions from agriculture whilst maintaining food production per capita – knowing all too well that relying too heavily on imports will seek only to offshore emissions and add fuel to the fire in what is a global challenge.

Improving soil health is one of their top priorities and they have highlighted that cutting edge science such as precision techniques and genetics will have big roles to play in the path to net zero.

As discussions continue in the coming months around Scottish independence, any decisions made around future agricultural policy will be done with one eye on what is happening with CAP in Europe.

The First Minister will not be keen to stray too far from its path if the opportunity to re-join the EU were to arise in the future. That said, it would be foolish to stunt progress in announcing policy whilst constitutional arguments unfold, as the way CAP is moving in Europe, it wouldn’t cut it in a Scottish context given the scale and nature of the challenges we face here, particularly in the most remote parts of the country.

There is growing opposition in Europe to their Field to Fork strategy, with those saying it does not adequately reward farmers for maintaining food supply. Similar concern has been raised around England's new Environmental Land Management Scheme as Defra continues on its crusade to turn fertile lands in to a wildflower haven. Scottish farmers and crofters can at least remain hopeful that support for food production will remain at the core of future policy.

Ultimately all farmers across all nations will be tasked with delivering similar outcomes of working hand in glove with the environment but Scotland mustn’t lose sight of the fact it is the only country in the world that has put in place an industry-led initiative to tackle climate challenges that affects us all. A single coherent vision of a policy that could genuinely work but now it is over to the Scottish Government to harness this enthusiasm and not allow it to wilt away to nothing.

To echo the sentiments of farming stalwart and co-chair of one of the FLGs, Jim Walker: “Farmers should not have to wait for policy to catch up with the momentum that we have generated, and as a society we simply do not have time to wait.”