Brexit ‘a catalyst to address the need for a rural policy’

While a major report into the potential implications of leaving the EU on Scotland’s rural areas released yesterday highlighted that major economic challenges lie ahead, Brexit has also acted as a catalyst to address a long-standing need for an all-encompassing policy for the country’s rural areas.

That was the view of the joint chairs of the National Council of Rural Advisers (NCRA) as they released their discussion document which looks at the effects which Brexit will have on a wide range of rural businesses, including agriculture, food and drink processing, the tourism and hospitality sectors along with the myriad other ventures contributing to the wider rural economy.

Outlining the background to the NCRA – the formation of which was announced at this year’s Highland show – joint chairs Alison Milne, farmer and rural consultant and Professor Lorne Crerar, lawyer and chair of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, said that the group’s aim was to place a focus on the rural economy which had not been seen before:

“And this means looking at the rural sector in its totality,” said Crerar, “and fostering the realisation that the prosperity of rural areas is fundamental to the future of the country – the urban and rural sectors are intimately dependant on each other.”

“While the needs of rural areas are often unique, it’s also crucial that the interdependence between rural and urban is also recognised,”

0 The effects of Brexit on agriculture were examined added Milne. The pair also admitted that while the breadth and depth of experience of those involved in the council had been tremendous, much of the work carried out to date had been out of the public view – but stressed that this was set to change:

“Our report has highlighted some of the key areas which must be addressed and some of the approaches we could take to these – but we now need to engage with the public and everyone involved in rural economy to get their views on board,” said Crerar.

And while the usual course of consulting with stakeholders would be taken, Milne said that the group wanted genuine grass-root input into the discussions as well:

“We have been charged with drawing up a full report by late spring, early summer next year but we need everyone involved to feed into the exercise – and we hope to see the sort of engagement and enthusiasm which has been evident from the council members coming from the huge range of individuals and organisations involved in rural businesses.”

The report’s findings placed the key Brexit challenges into four categories: trade; labour and skills; funding; and legislation and standards.

It stressed that the farming, food processing and tourism sectors relied heavily on European workers and faced a threat to their viability without continued access to this labour.

The rural sector’s heavy reliance on trade with Europe was also highlighted – with the threat of possible financial tariffs being exacerbated by other disruptions such as border controls which could place the export of many fresh commodities such as seafood in jeopardy.

With the £5 billion of funding coming from the EU over the 2014 to 2020 period set to stop, the report said that this threat went well beyond the CAP as funds for the LEADER projects, regional development and social funds were under threat.