The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Interest-free loans help farmers ride out crisis
Funding: Payments to be released early to help mitigate impacts of Brexit
Scottish farmers and crofters will be offered interest-free loans for their subsidy payments up to three months earlier this year.
Rural Economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing, said this year’s National Basic Payment Support Scheme will deliver payments to farmers from September.
The loan scheme, which was first launched due to problems with the Scottish Government’s farm payments IT system and more recently used to deliver subsidy monies earlier to producers, will offer payments for up to 95% of 2020 Basic Payment Scheme and greening payments.
Loan offer letters will be sent to eligible farmers and crofters from the beginning of next month, and loan offers will be capped at a maximum of £133,638.
Mr Ewing said the scheme would inject up to £340 million into the rural economy and maintain vital cash flow for farm and croft businesses.
“Our farmers and crofters are vital to Scotland’s economy, putting food on our plates during this unprecedented crisis,” said Mr Ewing.
“As the end of the Brexit transition period approaches at the end of this year, these farmers will only be feeling additional anxiety, so it is essential that they have the cash flow to continue operating.”
He said the government had considered using the advanced payment option in the Common Agricultural Policy to process basic payments earlier than in previous years, but decided a loan scheme was a better mechanism to deliver payments quickly.
“Our priority is ensuring farmers and crofters receive their payments as we move towards a full exit from the EU, so we have decided to offer a further loan scheme so that farmers can access this support early,” added Mr Ewing.
“I would therefore encourage anyone who would like to accept their loan offer to do so by email where they can, to allow us time to process these important payments as quickly as possible.”