Back in July, my colleague Andrew Midgley wrote about the scale of need for farm funding. It has been estimated that £5.9 billion needs to be spent each year supporting nature and climate friendly farming across the UK as a whole, with £1.8 billion of that spent in Scotland.
Almost all decisions affecting farming and nature are devolved to Scotland and are the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government. However, decisions about the size of the UK farming budget are made by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, with this budget shared in different proportions between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Budget announcements on the 30th October will set out what money is available for farming in Scotland for the coming financial year with longer term spending plans announced next Spring. We have a chance to make sure the Chancellor makes the right decisions. Please ask her to invest in nature friendly farming and ensure Scotland has the funds it needs, by signing this petition now.
This funding is essential if we are to respond to the nature and climate crisis. Farming has a critical role to play in this. Agriculture is a significant source of climate warming greenhouse gas emissions and a contributor to declines in nature. We know it’s possible though to farm and produce food in ways that minimise climate impacts and are better for birds and a host of other wildlife that lives on farmland. With farming occupying 75% of Scotland’s land, it is critical that our farmers and crofters are helped to do this.
Government funding is needed to help farmers and crofters across Scotland continue with nature and climate friendly farming where it is already happening and to make sure that everyone else is on the journey towards it. Farm support payments need to be designed to achieve this and be able to deliver at scale.
It is vitally important that Scotland receives the funds it needs now so it can increase investment in nature and climate friendly farming. With rumours circulating about possible cuts to the UK farm budget, and hence for Scotland, we are worried about what the future holds. That’s why we need to speak up now.
We all know that public finances are stretched and governments face competing demands for funds. So why is this call for investment so important? One clear answer that affects us all is that without taking care of nature and tackling climate change, growing food will become increasingly difficult. More extreme weather events such as droughts and floods and declines in insects which pollinate crops are already impacting food production. We can turn the tide but Scotland’s farmers and crofters – and the wildlife that depends on them – need support. Please make your voice heard and ask the Chancellor to invest now.
Sign the nature friendly farming petition now.