Union cautious over protesting
NFU Scotland has stepped back from the protest movement by the agriculture sector that is sweeping across Europe.
President Martin Kennedy spoke out after more than
100 vehicles, many flying the Union flag and banners, took to the streets around Westminster.
He said discontent in some parts of the UK is “fully understandable” but stopped short of calling for colleagues in Scotland to protest.
“As the threat of the green agenda, extra layers of bureaucracy, lax import controls, low retailer returns and decreasing support payments hit farmers, on top of high input costs, the strain is bound to reach breaking point,” said Mr Kennedy.
“I have been asked on many occasions if we should be taking the same type of action. At the moment, my
answer to this is ‘no’. We need to ask ourselves exactly what would we be protesting about? What we cannot risk losing is consumer confidence and support for farmers, especially here in Scotland.
“That does not stop us from making our case loud and clear.
“I have absolutely no doubt that the #FoodNeedsAFarmer rally we staged 14 months ago at Holyrood made a significant difference to the outcome of the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill.”
Mr Kennedy said the rally had galvanised resolve to make sure politicians were aware that food production should be “front and centre of any future agriculture policy”, but also encouraged more than 40 MSPs to come out and speak to NFUS members.
He added: “Given the announcements we heard from the First Minister at our National AGM in Glasgow on February 9, it now looks like the Scottish Government has listened to many of NFU Scotland’s key priorities.”