Of all the areas of life that will be affected by Brexit, agriculture is unlikely to be the one that generates the most headlines. But it is vitally important. Not just for the food it produces but for the much wider range of wildlife, landscape and cultural benefits that agricultural land management delivers. Or should deliver.
Formal negotiations to leave the EU have not yet begun. Meanwhile, the Scottish Government continues discussions regarding Scotland’s future in the EU, given the majority vote here to Remain. Much is yet to be discussed and decided. The options are still unclear, let alone the outcome. For those of us interested in rural issues though, thoughts are now turning to the implications of leaving the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which has provided a route map for food and farming for most of the past 40 years. Now is the time to start planning how farming, rural land management and the environment can best be supported, going forward.
Many organisations, including RSPB Scotland, are taking time to think through the implications, talk to each other and consider the future. It would be unhelpful to start making detailed policy demands immediately when so much about the future is unknown. But there are some things we can say now about the broad principles and objectives we believe should inform future thinking.
The first to say is that we need to think not just about farming but about other sectors such as forestry and rural land use more widely. Our vision is for sustainable land management in Scotland in all its forms and farming, whilst very important, should be considered in context alongside the other uses we have for land. Reminding ourselves of the sustainability principles and objectives contained in Scotland’s Land Use Strategy seems sensible at this juncture. The aspirations contained in the Scottish Government’s Good Food Nation and Future of Scottish Agriculture documents are also worth keeping in mind. If they signal a direction of travel, then the policies and not inconsiderable public support that replaces the CAP should deliver these options.
Going forward, farming, forestry and other rural land use activities will need to be underpinned by the right balance of incentive, advice and effective regulation. The latter is our starting point. We must ensure that, whatever the future constitutional arrangements and trading agreements, we protect the environment to a level at least equivalent or better than that provided by current EU law. That means maintaining protected areas and supporting the management they need, minimising risks from pesticides, meeting water quality standards and a host of other requirements designed to protect the public interest. Protecting our environment is good for farmers, land managers and society - it will help ensure we can go on producing food, timber and other products and secure a healthy countryside for future generations to work in, and enjoy visiting.
For many though, thoughts inevitably turn to money. For decades the CAP – albeit imperfectly - has represented a major investment of public money in Scotland’s rural areas. It currently stands at some £650 million .We are clear that a significant level of public investment will continue to be needed post CAP if we are to secure farming and land management in Scotland that is good for people and nature, and fair to those who seek to make their living from the land. It is good that the UK Government has signalled that this will happen, until 2020 at least. But it will be for the Scottish Government to determine where the money is spent. We believe this investment should reward the many vital public services that agriculture, forestry and other land use activities can provide, and build on the great work already being achieved through the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP). It should help shape more sustainable rural businesses by encouraging land management that benefits nature, helps tackle climate change and offers opportunities for the people of Scotland in the round.
We must however take the opportunity to shift away from a focus on subsidies with very few strings attached, towards a strategic policy framework that supports progressive, innovative farmers and land managers, providing them with the certainty to engage in more sustainable food production that benefits the environment and the wildlife found on their farms. A much greater proportion of this public investment in rural areas must be focused on meeting the environmental challenges that farmers, foresters and other land managers are uniquely placed to meet, such as the conservation of species, restoration of damaged habitats and resilient natural flood risk management. This should build on the progress already being made through our Agri-Environment-Climate Scheme and other SRDP schemes. I am pleased the Scottish Government has said it is the intention to retain the EU Environmental protections our countryside has, but of course the incentives to positively deliver this must be in place as well. Public support should be directed at achieving this in future.
Key to ensuring the effectiveness of regulations and payments is the provision of information, training and advice for farmers and other land managers. This is an area that, in future, we believe should be given much greater attention in order to help farmers and other land managers adapt to changing circumstances, get the skills they need and make the most of the opportunities.
As well as changing the way we support farming and other rural land uses through the public purse, we also need market reform. Ultimately, there needs to be a framework in place that works much harder to improve the return farmers and crofters receive from the market and increases transparency about where money goes in the supply chain. This will help ensure farmers are profitable whilst allowing them to deliver for nature in addition to food and other services. The Scottish food brand must become synonymous with a wildlife rich, pollution free countryside which the market rewards. We need to engage wider society to support these changes so they can select nature and environmentally friendly choices in their weekly shop.
We now need a transition period toward new arrangements that allows time for farmers, foresters and land managers to adapt, and for new policies to be piloted and introduced. This is particularly important for the most economically vulnerable farmers and crofters, such as those in our extensive livestock sector, who are often farming in marginal, but High Nature Value areas. At the moment they do not get a fair share. The recent UK Treasury announcement guaranteeing CAP direct payments to farmers to 2020 was welcomed by the farming industry. The commitment to pay for agri-environment and other scheme agreements, signed this year, will also help transition but it is critical that such schemes remain open for applications next year and beyond, until replacement schemes are operational. Without them, birds such as corncrakes, which have been brought back from the brink of extinction in Scotland through years of targeted public investment in wildlife friendly farming methods, will disappear very rapidly. We cannot let this happen for corncrakes, or the hundreds of other species that need extensive and sympathetic farming management to survive.