News / Warning against UK-wide agricultural subsidies
THE CHAIRMAN of the local NFU branch says he would be “unhappy” if a “one size fits all” approach was applied to crofters’ and farmers’ subsidies across the UK when the country pulls out of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) scheme.
His views come after a free market, Margaret Thatcher-endorsed think tank headed by Scotland Office minister Lord Duncan suggested that a “core UK policy” is the best way forward when deciding how to deliver subsidies post-Brexit.
Right wing organisation New Direction said that it would not be acceptable for the Scottish Government to give “significant subsidies to sheep farmers in Scotland which are not available to sheep farmers in England or Wales so allowing Scottish sheep prices unfairly to undercut other sheep farmers across the whole UK market.”
“For these reasons a core UK policy is needed to replace the existing EU CAP,” it added. “Such a policy would not reduce the scope of the powers of the devolved legislatures but would simply replace existing EU powers (although ritual declarations that devolved parliaments’ prerogatives were being usurped might be expected).
“However, the content of the core UK agricultural policy would no doubt be the subject of negotiation between Westminster and the devolved legislatures and governments.”
UK cabinet minister Damian Green has also warned of potential “subsidy wars” between Scotland and England if devolved governments had the power to increase payment rates.
Local NFU chairman Jim Nicolson said that a general approach to paying subsidies across the UK could put famers and crofters in Scotland under financial strain.
“We would be concerned at that,” he said. “Basically 80 per cent of Scotland is less favoured areas – it’s poorer ground. A quite a lot of England is very good quality, where they would probably manage without subsidy. Whereas, in much of Scotland, a lot of agriculture would less viable.
“It’s certainly the case that the NFU would be looking to lobby both Scottish Government and UK Government representatives in the hope that we can achieve the best we can.”
Highlands and Islands MSP Maree Todd said that Duncan has shown a “complete lack of understanding of the needs of Scotland’s rural economy”, where there is a high proportion of farmers and crofters.
New Scottish Parliament figures estimate Scotland would lose out on over €2bn in subsidies if CAP payments are replaced by UK-wide per capita funding because of the higher concentration of agriculture workers.
“While the Scottish Government is not opposed in principle to agreeing UK-wide frameworks where powers are returning from Brussels, that must be agreed by mutual agreement,” Todd said.
“For the Tories to imply that the world would simply stop turning unless agriculture is controlled from Westminster is complete nonsense.
“On the one hand the Tories say Scotland should use its devolved powers to mitigate Westminster’s welfare cuts, but on the other the prospect of the Scottish Government using its powers to subsidise its own sheep farmers is somehow wrong.
“This is complete double standards and we need to put a stop to the Tories’ continued attempts to centralise power in London to the detriment of our rural economy. It is clear the Tories cannot be trusted to act in the interests of Scotland’s farmers and crofters.”
CAP payments from the EU are currently administered by the Scottish Government, but it has repeatedly come under fire for failing to pay crofters and farmers on time despite shelling out around £180 million on a new IT system.
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