Ewing’s warning to Gove as he seeks details of farm support

Any cessation or interruption of farm support measures could result in significant repercussions well beyond Scotland’s agriculultural sector, the country’s farming secretary has warned his English counterpart.

In a letter to the UK Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Gove, a clearly frustrated Fergus Ewing yesterday demanded details on future funding arrangements for the agricultural sector postbrexit.

He warned that even a temporary hiatus in support measures would reverberate well beyond the farm gate, impacting not only on the whole country’s economy but also risking land abandonment and rural depopulation – while having a devas- 0 Fergus Ewing has written to his UK Counterpart tating impact on the environment, the country’s world-class food and drink industry and supply chain and even threaten public health.

In the letter Ewing – who has been coming under increasing pressure to formulate a plan for the future of Scotland’s farming sector – requested a clear statement on precisely what was guaranteed post-brexit to support the rural economy, stating that, without certainty of funding, forward planning was virtually impossible.

Commenting on Gove’s recent pledge that when the UK left the EU the £3 billion that farmers currently received in support from the CAP would continue until 2022, Ewing said that there was no clarity of what this meant:

“I hope that you are referring to a transition period for all aspects of common agricultural policy (CAP) Pillar 1 and 2, at current funding levels, with the ability for each administration to continue the current schemes as they see fit, until there are substantive discussions on the future,” he said.

However, he asked for confirmation that both Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 of the CAP would be covered in their entirety – and that 2022 referred to schemes entered into that year and not just payments for the previous year’s scheme.