Agriculture / ‘Point scoring’ or ‘complete mess’? Politicians divided over success of farming funding scheme
CONTRASTING opinions have been voiced over the success of a Scottish Government scheme to provide funding to farmers across the country.
Orkney and Shetland’s MSPs have criticised the Future Farming Investment fund, with Shetland’s representative Beatrice Wishart calling it a “botched scheme”.
A total of 59 Shetland-based applicants were successful in applying to the scheme, receiving just over £400,000 of grant funding.
However Wishart said that accounted for less than two per cent of the £21.4 million budget overall.
Orkney MSP Liam McArthur led a Holyrood debate on the topic late last month, with businesses in Orkney receiving just 3.48 per cent of the funding, and called it a “complete mess”.
The Scottish Government said the fund was designed to help farmers and crofters improve the environmental performance of their business, including to reduce emissions and protect or restore the environment.
“The Scottish Government promised that this scheme would prioritise small farms, crofts and islanders, but that clearly did not happen,” McArthur said.
“Across Scotland, including in my own Orkney constituency, there has been both anger and confusion about the outcome of the process, with many farmers being left in the dark as to why their applications were rejected.”
But SNP political candidate Hannah Mary Goodlad, who is standing to replace Wishart as Shetland’s MSP in May, accused the Liberal Democrats of “political point scoring”.
“I don’t know about others, but I am fed up of this type of politics,” she said.
“This is not a ‘botched’ scheme. It is a scheme which put an extra £21.4 million directly into farmer’s pockets generating around a £30 million investment in rural communities and businesses.”
She said the figures quoted were “not a true reflection of the eligible applications” for the scheme.
“The competitive scheme was oversubscribed which shows there is an appetite from the farming community to embrace the policy direction of the government,” Goodlad added.
“This initial round was a start and will allow government to learn where more targeted support for any future scheme may be allocated.
“If elected, I look forward to ensuring that Shetland’s crofting voice is heard loud and clear.”
Her political opponent for the Shetland seat however, Liberal Democrat candidate Emma Macdonald, said that the farming funding had not gone far enough.
“When the Future Farming Investment Scheme was first announced, many farmers here in Shetland hoped it would provide meaningful support and help secure the future of our local agricultural sector,” she said. “Sadly, that hasn’t been the case.
“Too many local businesses, new entrants and young farmers have put time and effort into applications, only to be turned down with little or no explanation. That’s incredibly frustrating and simply not good enough.”
Macdonald said it felt as if the scheme had been “rushed out” rather than being properly designed for places like Shetland.
“While we can’t undo the problems with this round of funding, the Scottish Government must learn lessons and make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“One clear example is the proposed expansion of ecological focus areas. I’ve heard directly from farmers who are worried they’ll be asked to spend money on measures that just don’t make sense here and won’t deliver real environmental gains.
“Shetland farmers already have a strong track record of taking part in environmental schemes and looking after the land. They don’t need box-ticking exercises – they need practical, flexible support that works in an island setting.
“If ministers are serious about sustainability, they must properly ‘island proof’ these policies and work with local farmers, not against them.”
The candidates standing for the Shetland seat in May’s election publicly confirmed so far, in alphabetical order are: Alex Armitage (Greens), John Erskine (Labour), Hannah Mary Goodlad (SNP), Emma Macdonald (Lib Dems) and Brian Nugent (Sovereignty).
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