Year of "Major gains" for Scottish farmers
Farmers in Scotland could receive a boost as a result of changes in 2014, cabinet secretary Richard Lochhead has said.
There could be "Major gains" for Scottish farmers in 2014 with changes to the Common Agricultural Policy and a referendum ion independence, the rural affairs secretary for Scotland has said.
Richard Lochhead said a vote for independence on September 18 will strengthen Scotland's farming sector.
“If there is one thing I have learnt these past years it is how our constitutional arrangements influence the success of farming.
“We may face tough decisions in Scotland over how to allocate Europe’s lowest share of CAP budgets but if the UK Government had got its way and not been outvoted by the other member states then direct payments to Scotland’s farms would have been reduced even further. “That’s one reason why we need to speak up for ourselves in Europe and not let others with different priorities speak for us. “I firmly believe that independence will deliver major gains for Scotland’s farmers and rural communities."
He said an independent Scotland cold negotiate directly with the EU and make the agricultural sector a priority, influencing future discussions on CAP. “If Scotland had been independent during the recent CAP negotiations, we would have qualified for a €1 billion agricultural subsidy uplift," Mr Lochhead said. "We would also have had the opportunity to join 16 other EU countries in negotiating hundreds of millions of euros more in rural development funding – money that we could invest in rural tourism, environmental protection, broadband and renewables, and start-up assistance for young farmers. “Instead, the UK Government has negotiated a comparatively worse deal for Scotland. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the UK qualified for a €220 million uplift because of Scotland’s low payments – but instead of that funding coming to Scottish farmers, in line with the wishes of the European Union and Scottish Parliament, it was divvied up across the whole of the UK. “There is also the prospect of agricultural support being cut completely if Scotland remains in the UK. Scotland faces the possibility of leaving the EU because of Westminster’s planned in-out European referendum. If there is a vote to leave the EU, Scottish agriculture and our rural industries will no longer be part of the CAP and will be in the hands of a Westminster government with a stated policy of phasing out farm payments. “It is clear to me that the only government capable of properly representing Scotland’s interests is a government elected by, and directly accountable to, the people of Scotland.
“Independence also offers the opportunity to put in place a system of farming levies that is designed specifically to promote Scottish produce and not that of our competitors, as is currently the case."
He also said the vote for independence could boost services such as broadband, mobile telecoms, and postal services.
In the meantime changes are being made to direct payments from the CAP.
“Some farmers will want time to adjust to this new system, but I am not prepared to make new entrants wait a minute longer than necessary to receive direct payments. The provisions we have secured for the National Reserve means that new entrants and others currently excluded from Single Farm Payments will get a fair deal from day one of the new CAP," Mr Lochhead said. “Greening the new CAP also offers a tremendous opportunity for Scottish farming. The high quality food produced by our farmers is in demand all over the world, with Scotland’s abundance of natural resources and fantastic raw ingredients helping to give us a competitive edge on the international stage."
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