A new report published today by Scottish Environment LINK, to coincide with the conclusion of the Government’s consultation on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), points the way forward for a fairer distribution of funding which would help more farmers as well as the environment cope with the changing priorities for the countryside.
The current CAP does Scotland no favours at all. Our farmers and crofters receive a ridiculously low share of the European pot, and yet they could be producing high quality food as well as enhancing the environment for the good of the whole country. Scotland has some of Europe’s finest farmland, supporting a vast range of wildlife – and yet this goes unrecognised in the current CAP funding structure. It is time we lifted our country from the bottom of the EU’s agricultural funding league table, and demanded that the valuable contribution our land managers make is properly recognised. We are calling on the Scottish Government to take a lead in renegotiating what the Common Agricultural Policy can provide for Scotland.