Time for First Minister to back Scottish farming – Carmichael calls for change ahead of NFUS AGM

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has today called for a new approach to Scottish farming from the First Minister, Humza Yousaf, ahead of the National Farmers Union Scotland’s Annual General Meeting on Friday. Speaking ahead of the event, Mr Carmichael called for deferred funding to be restored by the SNP-Green Scottish Government and for ministers to “take the needs of farmers and crofters seriously”.

Mr Yousaf will address the NFUS event three weeks after the Scottish Government announced that just £15m would be returned to the rural portfolio in the 2024-25 budget, after the agricultural budget was previously cut by £46m by the SNP-Green government. Scottish Ministers re-assigned extra funding allocated to agriculture in Scotland by the UK government under the Bew Review, in order to cover other spending in the Scottish budget.

Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies this week found that after accounting for budget top-ups and inflation, the Scottish budget saw allocations for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands down 0.2% in real terms.

Mr Carmichael said:

“It has been a poorly kept secret for years that farmers, crofters and rural issues in general are pretty low on the priority list for our nationalist government. It is past time for Humza Yousaf and his party to take the needs of farmers and crofters seriously.

“If the First Minister is serious about change then his first announcement on Friday should be to restore the funds the SNP and Greens snaffled away from farmers in the budget. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has already found that the rural affairs and agriculture budget is set to drop in real terms, contrary to Scottish government claims. Hard-pressed farmers and crofters in the Northern Isles and elsewhere need some certainty on how long-term funding will be delivered, so that these short-sighted budget raids do not continue.

“Even this, however, will only go so far without a proper shake-up from the top. Rural and island communities deserve a government that understands their needs and will put community consent first, whether on local services and economic development, or vital issues like the rules around live animal transport.

“If the First Minister cannot deliver some ironclad promises on the priorities of farming communities on Friday then he would be as well to fold up his speech and stay in his seat.”