Farm payments concern

CROFTERS and farmers in Shetland will be able to appeal their land classifications, Scottish rural affair secretary Richard Lochhead confirmed in parliament on Tuesday.

He said he accepted that the rollout of the Common Agriculture Policy reform wasn’t as smooth as it could have been, and that adjustments were likely to be required in 2016.

According to local MSP Tavish Scott more than 500 local crofters were losing out as they were receiving lower subsidy payments than initially promised.

Scott said this year’s farm payment were not just lower but also later than usual.

During question time Lochhead came not just under pressure from the Shetland MSP but also from conservative Murdo Fraser and the SNP’s own Graeme Dey.

Scott said: “Richard Lochhead accepted today that hundreds of Shetland crofters will receive a lower CAP payment than they were promised.

“It is very worrying that the Scottish Government has spent £178 million on a computer that cannot make the payments before Christmas as they hadpromised.

“These CAP payments will be later than promised and in many cases will be lower than promised.”

He added that crofters and farmers had been given assurances that they would receive increased payments for re-seeded land, which now turns out not to be the case.

Responding, the cabinet secretary said: “Due to the fact that this is a very radical reform in Europe’s common agriculture policy, I do accept that lessons will have to be learned, and as the first year is implemented we have the ability under the policy to re-visit the payment regions if there is a case for doing that.

“But I should also say that moving from historic-based payments to an area-based payment will help many of the western and island communities. It will bring additional payment to the uplands and hill farms in may parts of Scotland.”