We are living in worrying and uncertain times. Recent events in Ukraine are overshadowing everything and I know that I’m not alone in feeling a lot of trepidation when I turn on the news. Add to that the worries about rising energy and food costs and it is difficult to find the glimmers of hope for the future.
But there was one recent announcement by the Scottish Government that caught my eye, and which looks potentially promising. The government published a document called ‘The next step in delivering our vision for Scotland as a leader in sustainable and regenerative farming’. Admittedly, you could be forgiven for not getting immediately excited about this paper; it is a bit of a niche read. But for us at RSPB Scotland it is very important.
Farming matters to us in the RSPB. Not only do we run our own farming operations on some of our nature reserves, but we also have a critical interest in wider farming policy. Since agriculture covers around 70% of the land area, farming has perhaps the biggest influence on the state of nature in Scotland. And since one of the biggest drivers of farming practice is government policy, we take a particularly keen interest in government thinking on farming.
The government has been financially supporting the farming industry for decades, primarily through European Union funding, and now that we have left the EU, Scotland must design its own farm policy. We therefore have a once in a generation opportunity to shift our agricultural policy onto a new path.
In the context of the nature and climate emergency, we want to see the government reform farming policy and financial support so that farming becomes much more sustainable and helps reverse biodiversity loss and reduce emissions. This can be done, and we look forward to the government bringing forward proposals for a new policy framework this year.
This recent document is important because it sets out a vision for the future. We have been asking the government to articulate that vision for some time because it is the foundation for future policy decisions. With the government spending about £600 million a year on supporting farming, it is vital that there is a clear rationale for what the government is hoping to achieve by spending that money. At present, only a small proportion at that public expenditure is directed towards addressing the nature and climate emergencies and we think that there is a big opportunity to improve how that money is spent and make Scottish farming more environmentally and economically sustainable in the process.
Edward Makin
The reason that I see this document as potentially promising is that it includes reference to transforming farming and food production in Scotland so that we become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture. The direction of travel is clear; the government wants to get on a path where Scottish farming works better for nature and actually leads the way in sustainability.
Similarly, it refers to Scotland having a support framework that delivers high quality food production, climate mitigation and adaptation and nature restoration. This may seem uncontroversial to many, but to those that have been working away to try and improve the environmental performance of Scottish farm policy, a clear statement that the support framework will deliver for climate and nature as well has food production is very welcome. As is the reference the document makes to the Good Food Nation Bill; linking government farming policy to food policy is an important step.
You may have noted, however, that I said that this vision is ‘potentially promising’. The proof of the pudding is, as they say, in the eating. While the government is making some positive noises and saying some good things, the critical decisions have yet to be made. The government must now design a new policy framework and decide how to spend money to put Scottish farming on that path to being a global leader in sustainable food production. Those decisions will be crucial and ultimately set the benchmark against which the government will be judged.
The challenges of the nature and climate emergency are so great, we simply have to get it right.
Clearly, though, the current context is important. Conflict and uncertainty turn the spotlight on food security and the fragility of our food systems. For me, this just re-emphasises the need for resilient farming and food systems. We need to move forward to a genuinely sustainable model that delivers high quality food at the same time as addressing the climate and nature emergency. I hope that in the coming months we can all work together to help the government design policy that will put Scottish farming on the path to greater sustainability.
One thing is certain, Scotland’s farmers have a critical role to play in the challenges that we face. Farmers are part of the solution. We just hope that the government will support and help them deliver for us the people, for the climate and for nature.
Patrick Cashman
Main image - A plough working its way through a field, being followed by common gulls. There are trees and hills in the background. Ian Francis
I remember the warnings about the increasingly unsustainable nature of Scottish farming as far back as the 1960, some coming from my dad who was a farmer who worried that the land was no longer "being kept in good heart". More and more farmers moved to continuous cropping of malting barley because that was the big earner. I don't see how any new strategy to make farming more sustainable has any prospect of success until the public, politicians and especially farmers honestly and open acknowledge the failures and mistakes of the last 70 years. Farmers are NOT the "Real custodians of the Countryside" - they have been responsible for the bulk of our biodiversity loss over those 70 years. Farming is NOT solely about food production - much of arable production goes into the manufacture of alcohol in one form or another and not "to feed a hungry world". Am I the only taxpayer who finds it hard to believe that I am to be asked to provide a financial incentive to farmers to make a better job of managing the soil - their own most basic asset. Scotland's current and proposed farming policies and strategies are straight our of Alice in Wonderland.