NFU rallies at the Scottish Parliament declaring 'food needs a farmer' amid mounting frustration over the consultation on the Scottish Government’s new Agriculture Bill
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Scotland’s farmers have staged a rally outside Holyrood to deliver a “crystal-clear message” that “food needs a farmer” amid mounting frustration over the consultation on the Scottish Government’s new Agriculture Bill.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) Scotland says that its members from across the country are being asked to discuss and help determine fundamental changes in an “information vacuum.”
According to the NFU, there has been a “lack of recognition of our industry and all it delivers” which is “unacceptable and fails to acknowledge the urgent need to address the worsening food security crisis.”
In a statement, the union said: “The Scottish Parliament must acknowledge that farming and crofting have the answers when it comes to delivering high quality, local, sustainable and affordable food and at the same time delivering for the public on climate change and biodiversity.
“NFU Scotland has been unequivocal that the new powers must be used to target future direct support at active farming and crofting – both to provide financial stability through post-Brexit turbulence and severe market volatility and to reward actions that improve productivity and build resilience.
“Only farmers and crofters across Scotland can turn the dry legislation of a new Agriculture Bill into practices that deliver for food, climate and nature, but we need to know now what those options look like.”
Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP Edward Mountain was at the rally and later Tweeted out his support, saying: "Great to support farmers and the NFU at the #FoodNeedsAFarmer rally.
"The SNP’s new Farm Policy is thin gruel and Mairi Gougeon offered little that would change that today."
His fellow Highland MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston speaking ahead of the rally said: “Farmers are a vital part of local economies across the Highlands and Islands.
“Coming from a farming background myself, I have seen first-hand the issues that the rural economy is facing. So it’s great to see NFU Scotland turning out at the Scottish Parliament to engage with representatives from across Scotland and across the party divide.
“Sadly, farms in Scotland have faced unprecedented challenges over recent years and farmers have been kept in the dark by the SNP-Green coalition about the future regulation and support for their sector.
“We will soon be looking at a new Agriculture Bill at Holyrood, but after several years of calls for more information, we still don’t have the details about how new arrangements will look in practice.
“As more powers have come to the Scottish Parliament, it is absolutely essential that we have proper proposals set out by the Scottish Government to allow businesses to plan ahead, particularly on key aspirations like meeting net zero targets.”
