Public backs farming with an environmental ethos

While a movement of farm policy towards environmental measures has long been on the cards, the general public also wants to see a greater focus on animal welfare and more support for smaller farms alongside a return to a more traditional form of mixed agriculture with livestock and crops.

These were just some of the findings of a major piece of market research carried out for the Scottish Government following a recommendation from the Agricultural Champions report that agricultural policy should be guided by real evidence about what the public values.

The report, published on the eve of the Royal Highland Show which begins its four-day run today, also highlights a high and growing level of public support for Scottish farming.

The research suggests that 83 per cent of Scots believe that farming provides an essential public service, while a further 86 per cent believe that the industry is critical to the success of the Scottish economy.

There was also strong backing for measures to encourage more food to be grown and produced locally as it was felt to be fresher, healthier and better at supporting ecosystems. There was also a widespread recognition that farmers often didn’t receive their fair share of the price of food on the shop shelves.

The report, Citizens’ Forums and Attitudes to Agriculture, Environment and Rural Priorities, looked at the opinions of almost 2,500 members of the public with a closer focus on two groups, one in urban Motherwell and the other in rural Montrose.

And while there was understandably more recognition of the complexity of the issues in the more rural area, there was a general feeling that the current area-based support system with no upper ceiling on payments which has been in operation under the EU’S Common Agricultural Policy was failing to deliver the desired outcomes.

There was also a feeling that agriculture was a polarised industry, with some farmers being very rich while others were viewed as being very poor – a view which engendered a feeling that the current support system was far from equitable.

There were, however some “wants” which might be difficult to reconcile, with a clear desire to favour support measures for those on poorer land clashing with expressed aims of favouring the production of vegetables over that of livestock.

And while farming’s food security role was rated highly, there was also strong support for the biodiversity and landscape aestheticrolesplayedbythe industry – and an additional factor was the role played by the farming industry in Scotland’s history.

Releasing the report, Scotland’s rural economy secretary, Fergus Ewing said: “Farmers produce our food, they are the custodians of our countryside and are at the beating heart of our rural economy. So it is really pleasing to see the widespread recognition they are receiving.”