Farm fair?

Andy Wightman MSP is quite correct (Platform, 30 July) in that if the £160 million of disputed agricultural subsidies money is repatriated to Scotland then, most likely, the usual suspects will hoover up the majority of it to little overall public benefit.

However, he is not correct in asserting that these will all be “big sporting estates”. If you look at the information available, most of the biggest recipients of agricultural subsidies are on the east coast, Borders or South-west, big farmers with little sporting interest who are focused primarily on livestock and crop production.

Many of them are tenant farmers who have learned to play the subsidy system. The system we have, devised in

Scotland, has allowed them to do this, and it is a massive abuse, but people, by their very nature, will accept as much money as you are willing to give them.

The other people who are extremely effective at claiming subsidies are the environmental NGOS, accounting for many millions of pounds annually. They have been very successful in lobbying to have schemes devised which suit their interests. Most big sporting estates have little historical agricultural activity. Some lease their ground to the “slipper farmers”, who can make money by doing very little, if anything.

The convergence cash issue hangs around because it is part of the grievance culture generated by the Scottish Government against Westminster. It was just about the only agricultural argument put forward by the independence campaign in 2014. They had little else to say.

If this money does come to Scotland, I would like to see it ring-fenced and distributed to smaller farmers, but that is unlikely to happen. The Scottish Government will not rock the boat with farmers, and the money is likely to disappear with little to show for it. Andy Wightman MSP is therefore entirely correct to raise this as an issue now before the monies are allocated along current lines.

VICTOR CLEMENTS

Aberfeldy, Perthshire