Farmers union welcomes Gove’s CAP reform statements

Scotland’s farmers union, NFU Scotland, has welcomed recent comments, made by the UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in which the minister said farming subsidies should be reformed to move away from a system which “rewards the size of land-holding ahead of good environmental practice.”

In a speech, made at WWF Living Planet Centre, in Woking, last Friday, the secretary of state, Michael Gove, said Brexit would provide a “historical opportunity” to review the country’s policies  on agriculture, land use, biodiversity and more.

He said: “The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) rewards size of land-holding ahead of good environmental practice, all too often puts resources in the hands of the already wealthy rather than into the common good of our shared natural environment and encourages patterns of land use which are wasteful of natural resources and often intrinsically poor value rather than encouraging imaginative and environmentally enriching alternatives.”

Mr Gove said that, while he recognised the critical importance of continued support, he said reform is also important. He added that after talking with farming bodies such as the NFU, he has been struck that it is the farmers themselves who was the CAP change.

He said: “It’s the farmers who have had to live within the CAP’s bureaucratic constraints. They have seen how it holds back productivity, impedes progressive environmental stewardship and works against their natural instincts.

“From all the conversations I have had so far, I with farmers, land owners and managers I know there is a growing appetite for a new system of agricultural support which puts environmental protection and enhancement first.”

Mr Gove also repeated the pledge that when the UK leaves the EU, the £3 billion that farmers currently receive in support from the CAP will be matched by the UK government, until 2022. Powers over agriculture, forestry and fishing are devolved to the Scottish Government.

Speaking after the Secretary of State’s speech, NFU Scotland’s Director of Policy Jonnie Hall said, while the headlines will be on ‘Green Brexit’, there was a significant amount of agricultural content in the Secretary of State’s speech.

He said: “The clear statement regarding a move away from the current area-based support system fully justifies our approach to have an open and frank discussion with our membership now and every member of NFUS has received a copy of our change document in the past few days.

“We would want to see a properly-funded policy, supported by science-led decision-making, that builds on our animal health and welfare record and is focused on productivity and profitability gains.

“That means, in the future, there is a justifiable case for Scottish agriculture to receive the same levels of funding as it currently receives, ring-fenced and spent in new and more effective ways to improve productivity, efficiency and resilience. That is a central plank of the discussions we will be having with politicians and their officials in the weeks and months ahead.

“While accepting of change, we will also be considering the case for a transitional shift from land to activity-based incentives. We would want to reward risk and recognise good stewardship, not inertia.

“It is in Scotland’s interests that a managed move to smarter agricultural support delivers profitable farming and crofting and a rich seam of public benefits, not least of which is the continued production of Scottish food and drink in the future.

“However, Mr Gove also recognised in his speech the importance of support to those living and working in our hills and uplands.  That is an issue we were able to raise with the Minister when we met at the Highland Show and we have extended an invite to the Minister and his team to visit Scotland soon and view the unique and diverse agricultural systems found North of the Border.”

However, North isles MP Alistair Carmichael has said Mr Gove needs to look further than support reform. Commenting this week, he said: “Michael Gove seems to see only part of the picture as far as farm support is concerned. It is disappointing that he sees the need for everyone to change apart from supermarkets.

“If financial support is to be done differently then it will have to recognise that for most family farms there is not a living to be made without subsidies. Without subsidies we would need supermarkets to pay a more realistic price to farmers but I would expect that to be passed on to consumers. That is the logic of much of what Mr Gove says.”