Public land to be leased to farmers

More than 1,000 hectares of public land is to be leased to new farmers as part of an effort to attract more people to the sector. A number of organisations, including Forestry Enterprise Scotland, Scottish Water, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, East Lothian and Highland Councils will release land for around 50 new farmers. With less than 10 per cent of Scotland’s farmers aged 40 or younger, the initiative is aimed at encouraging a new generation into agriculture.

Around 50 new start-up farms are to be created to help would-be farmers get a foot on the first rung of the farming ladder on over 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of publicly owned land.

Announcing the move on the eve of a major new entrants conference in Perth today, the Scottish Government said the move helped fulfil a pledge made two years ago to seek out more opportunities to make such land available for starter farms.

The land will come from public bodies such as Forestry Enterprise Scotland, Scottish Water, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and East Lothian and Highland Councils and will be made available later in the spring.

Announcing this latest stage in the Farming Opportunities for New Entrants (Fone) initiative, rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing said that it had been long recognised that the lack of access to land represented one of the biggest hurdles to wouldbe farmers: “With the average age of Scottish farmers at 58 years, attracting new entrants to farming is vital for the long-term sustainability of the industry. New entrants drive innovation and best practice, improve efficiencies and contribute towards the overall economic vitality of the sector.”

A spokesman for the scottish Government admitted that with a number of generations often working on the one farm, the statistics could be misleading as, while the younger generation often carried out the active farming (often as minor business partners), they were often omitted from official figures.

“But the reality is that the number of farm occupiers that are 40 years old and younger has dropped to around 9 per cent – and the number 65 years old and over has risen to over a third.

“As this trend shows no sign of reversing, the Scottish Government is determined to encourage a new younger generation by lowering capital and land barriers, supported by a first-class skills, knowledge and training package.”

The chair of Fone, Henry Graham, said he welcomed the fact that major land-owning organisations had reacted so positively to the aspirations of new entrants, adding: “This recent area of land to be released is in addition to the 1,400 hectares that have been let to 35 new entrants on the national forest estate since the beginning of the starter farm programme.”