Politics: Cost of living crisis is hitting our agricultural and food and drink sectors
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The war in Ukraine has put a focus on how important our food security and how important it is to have our own food growers.
The north-east is Scotland’s breadbasket and agriculture is the region’s lifeblood, a sector which many communities here depend on.
The truth is that the cost of living crisis affects the whole country, and our agriculture and food and drink sectors are no exception.
It’s absolutely vital that our farms are well supported in these difficult times, to keep our rural areas vibrant and resilient and to keep our food local.
Businesses across Scotland are facing mounting challenges as their bills increase and inflation rises, and in response the Scottish Government is delivering on action to support businesses and families through the cost of living crisis caused by the UK Government.
Having met with and spoken to farmers across Aberdeenshire who have already been impacted financially, I’ve been keen to advocate on their behalf in response to challenges they face including increased costs of fertiliser, fuel, and animal feed.
Steep rises in costs to farming businesses have prompted the government to make legislative changes, which have allowed early payment of Scottish Government support schemes to help farmers mitigate the pressures of the costs crisis.
The legislative changes came into effect on the 18th of September, and work to process payments to farming businesses began the next working day.
Close to £330 million in payments have been issued to more than 14,200 businesses thus far, offering necessary targeted support to our agriculture sector.
This is what farmers have been asking for, so I am delighted that farming businesses are being helped in the face of sharp rises in their daily operating costs.
The Scottish Government pays out around £420 million annually through its Basic Payment Scheme and Greening Payments, which helps keep our farms afloat and our rural areas vibrant.
It’s unavoidable that the UK Government’s focus on only the very highest earners and reckless mismanagement of the economy will impact on the Scottish budget, which is already facing a devaluation of £1.7 billion in comparison to December last year.
While it’s critical that the Scottish Government continues to take all actions within its powers and budgets, the fact of the matter is that many of the levers which would carry the greatest impact lie with the UK Government. Through a range of measures which will help alleviate cost of living pressures on households and businesses the Scottish Government is investing almost £3 billion this year, however only the UK Government can open up resources on the scale that’s required.
An estimated 1 in 10 jobs in Scotland is dependent on agriculture and close to 80 per cent of Scotland’s landmass is under agricultural production.
Needless to say, farms make up an integral part of our economy.
If there were ever a time that farmers needed a reliable UK Government which prioritises financial stability, it’s now – yet the UK economy has been left in complete disarray by a set of reckless fiscal measures that need to be scrapped.
