Future farm support must back active farmers, NFUS says

Future Scottish government support for agriculture must be paid to farmers and crofters who actively farm the land, not allocated according to acreage, insist farm leaders.

EU-era subsidies in Scotland are being replaced with a four-tier system intended to deliver food security, support rural livelihoods, and tackle the climate and nature crises.

Under the umbrella of the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024, the country’s agricultural subsidy system is experiencing the most significant reform since Brexit.

See also: NFU Scotland demands agricultural wages board axe

The system is still in development ahead of a 2030 transition and NFU Scotland (NFUS) has intervened this week by calling for a fundamental shift in how public cash is targeted.

It wants future payments targeted at food producers and land managers.

The union’s director of policy, Jonnie Hall, says payments should be funnelled to farmers and crofters who are “taking the risks and delivering for Scotland”.

“This is not about cutting support – quite the opposite,” he said.

“It is about making the strongest possible case for agricultural support by ensuring public investment reaches those actually delivering the outcomes Scotland needs.”

Reform shouldn’t mean replacing existing mechanisms such as less favoured area support, coupled support and capital investment schemes, he added.

“In a constrained budget environment, better targeting can help us make the strongest possible case for agricultural support by demonstrating clearly what public investment delivers for Scotland.

“Food security, productive capacity, viable livestock systems and maintaining farming and crofting in remote areas all matter.”

Direct support demands

NFUS wants Tier 1 in the new system to give direct support to active farmers and crofters and for Tier 2 to support businesses delivering improvements in productivity, animal health, soils, climate adaptation, biodiversity and innovation.

Crucially, Tier 2 must remain an agricultural activity payment, the union insists, to support farmers and crofters to deliver those outcomes on their farms.