The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Highland clearances warning sounded by agriculture group
Failure to provide targeted financial support to farmers and crofters in the Highlands and Islands after Brexit could lead to a modern-day version of the Highland Clearances.
That was the stark warning from Highlands and Islands Agriculture Support Group chairman Douglas Irvine at the launch of a report into post-brexit implications for agriculture and land use in the region yesterday.
“If we don’t get this right I think we are staring in the face of a 21st Century-type clearance,” said Mr Irvine, who is also economic development manager for Shetland Islands Council.
“This report is a wake-up call and shows us how important farming and crofting is to the economy, people and environment of the Highlands and Islands, but also how vulnerable it is.”
The report, compiled by Andrew Moxey from Pareto Consulting and Steven Thomson from SRUC, highlighted the challenges Brexit could pose to farmers and crofters in the region.
It concluded that loss of direct subsidy support and the adoption of a cheap food policy, whereby unilateral tariff-free trade deals are created, would be catastrophic for the region.
It states: “Extensive livestock grazing across the region is vulnerable to potential Brexitinduced price reductions and, especially, to the removal of income support measures.
“This will accelerate existing trends of declining agricultural activity, land abandonment and a shrinking agricultural workforce, with limited scope for alternative land use activities.”
Comparing the region to the rest of Scotland Mr Thomson said livestock density was 0.12 units per hectare in the Highlands compared to 0.57 in the rest of the country.