Governments’ efforts critisised

Looking at the progress on planned reform of agricultural policy in the UK, the report said that the “lack of ambition” in thes UK Agriculture Bill – especially when compared with the carefully crafted 1947 Act – was disappointing. However the Scottish Government’s efforts were damned with even fainter praise, the report stating: “Trying to predict with any certainty what things will look like for Scottish agriculture postmarch 2019 is a thankless task.” And while the Scottish consultation proposed that the current system would run largely unchanged through to 2024, the report stated that the political manoeuvring with the UK government made it clear that the Scottish Government’s priorities “lie elsewhere to agricultural policy reform”. Director David Siddle, pictured, said that, in sharp contrast, NFU Scotland had produced an intricate plan which would address many of the issues directly relevant to the Scottish situation. “However, even if the Scottish Government gave farm policy reform top priority and decided to focus on such a plan it would be fair to ask if they have the resources to deliver anything approaching the sort of scheme envisaged by NFU Scotland,” he said.