Scotland injects more cash into pig hardship scheme
© Tim Scrivener The Scottish government has announced an additional £410,000 to fund its Pig Producers’ Hardship Scheme, but said this will be the final time the scheme will be extended.
The scheme was first launched in August 2021 to support producers affected by the temporary closure of the abattoir at Brechin last year.
The closure led to the suspension of its China export licence, which hit the prices it could pay at a time when pig producers were already suffering because of supply chain problems and soaring feed prices.
See also: Pressure mounts on Tesco to pay more for pigmeat
The additional funds will compensate farmers directly for a £7.50/pig price cut by QPP Brechin between 1 October and 31 December 2021.
It also includes half of the price deductions during April 2021, which were not covered by the scheme previously.
Rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon said the hardship scheme had been a lifeline for producers.
“The scheme will open in the next few weeks and again I would encourage all eligible producers to submit their applications and benefit from this additional financial support.”
Jamie Wyllie, chair of NFU Scotland’s pig working group said the announcement was welcome, but pointed out Scottish pig producers who did not supply Brechin were not eligible.
“This fund will not solve the crisis,” he said.
“Solutions are needed now to turn the sector around and address the problems within the supply chain to ensure producers are getting a fair return from the market for their long-term security.”
Mr Wyllie called on retailers and processors to support their suppliers, warning the wider Scottish pig sector was on the brink of collapse.
“Pig farmers need a bigger share of the final price, and we need an increase to what we are paid now or there won’t be a British industry left.”
Regional support packages
The first tranche of the scheme was worth £715,000, with the second offering a further £680,000.
Taking the additional £410,000 into account, this means the scheme will have injected a total of £1.8m into the Scottish pig sector.
Northern Ireland’s pig farmers have also seen a £2m support package targeted at producers who incurred price penalties on pigs that were outside contract specifications from September 2021 to February 2022.
In England, there has been no direct financial support from the government for farmers, with Defra instead choosing to channel support into Private Storage Aid and Slaughter Incentive Payment schemes to help processors increase throughput to reduce the backlog of pigs on farm.