Call for action as more than a third fail to apply for loan scheme

With more than a third of Scotland’s farmers yet to apply for the national loan scheme, producers have been urged to act this week to ensure they receive their payments early next month.

The National Basic Payment Scheme Support Scheme (NBPSS) 2017 loan offer letters were issued by Scottish Government at the end of September – giving applicants the opportunity to secure up to 90 percent of their anticipated basic support and greening payments through a loan by simply confirming that they wished to opt in.

While no absolute deadline for application for the loans has yet been set, the Scottish Government has undertaken to make payments in November to those who actively request the loan by 20 October – this coming Friday.

But although offers were initially made to more than 16,000 businesses it is understood that so far only around 10,000 farmers have replied, opting into the loan scheme.

Those yet to request the loan – which is interest free – have been urged by NFU Scotland to act before Friday. The union’s director of policy, Jonnie Hall, said that while the response rate was good it was worth giving those yet to act a nudge to reply if they wanted to be included in the first payment run:

“This is proving to be a difficult and challenging autumn for farmers and crofters and the reality is that a long, costly winter lies ahead,” said Hall.

“This loan scheme gives farmers and crofters the opportunity to opt-in for a loan that will go some significant way to easing the cash-flow worries that will already be building.”