Data shows island farms missed FFIS support

New figures have shed further light on the scale of rejections in the first round of the Future Farming Investment Scheme (FFIS), prompting renewed criticism from opposition politicians and concerns from island communities.

Data released through a Freedom of Information request shows that 5,910 applications were refused, with only 1,672 applications approved – meaning just 22% of applicants received funding.

Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland and farmer Alistair Carmichael has warned that the Scottish government risks repeating past mistakes in the second £14.25m round of the Future Farming Investment Scheme unless it addresses problems from the first allocation. 

See also: Swinney pledges steady support for Scottish agriculture

The funding, announced last week by first minister John Swinney, aims to help more farms and crofts modernise, improve efficiency, and invest in climate‑smart technologies.

Writing in The Scotsman, Mr Carmichael said: “That there will be more support forthcoming ought to be good news – and yet I fear that this renewed funding round will fail again unless and until the SNP can admit what went wrong in the first place, and listen to the people of the Highlands and Islands.”

The figures also show significant regional disparities. Orkney businesses received 3.5% of the total funding, Shetland 1.9%, and the Western Isles just 0.2%.

Across the entire scheme, only 3% of funding went to farms smaller than 30ha, despite the programme being aimed in part at island and small-scale farmers.

Scottish Conservative shadow rural affairs secretary Tim Eagle said the updated figures “shine further light into the failures of this scheme”.

“It’s scandalous that it has now emerged almost 6,000 applications were rejected – even more than previously thought,” he said. “Too many farmers were rejected with no clarity why.”

Mr Carmichael said the initial response to complaints had been to “circle the wagons”, adding: “Unless and until the SNP admit to their problem and start listening to our communities, they are going to repeat the same mistakes time and again.”

Scottish government defends delivery

In its response, the Scottish government said applications “varied widely in quality” and that verification checks identified inconsistencies affecting eligibility and grant outcomes.

During a recent press briefing at the NFU Scotland conference in Glasgow, Mr Swinney defended the delivery of the FFIS, saying it fulfilled a commitment to return funding to the agricultural sector after money had previously been diverted to support public finances.

He acknowledged the scheme was heavily oversubscribed, with far more applications than could be supported, and said funding decisions were made to maximise the impact of public investment.

He added that the Scottish government would review the process to identify any lessons for future funding rounds.