Caithness farm union representative welcomes return of £160m
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THE return of £160 million of convergence funding from the UK Government to Scotland has been welcomed by Arnott Coghill, Caithness area representative of NFU Scotland.
Speaking in the wake of the Scottish Government's announcement last Thursday, Mr Coghill, of Skinnet, said: "It will help farmers because it is extra money coming in."
While unsure at this stage how it will be distributed to each region, he noted that the funding will come in two payments instead of one – the first next March, and the second in March 2021.
Referring to the current poor beef prices and the bad harvest, which he described as a "complete disaster" for some farmers, Mr Coghill said: "The money will be well needed by then."
The payments should have come from the EU straight to Scotland, where the hectare payments are lower, but went to the UK Government instead.
Payments are allocated on an area basis – Region 1, arable; Region 2, permanent grass; and Region 3, hill land.
The Scottish Government has pressed for the "historic injustice" to be addressed and welcomed the benefits the first instalments will bring to farmers and crofters in the Highlands.
It said the UK Government had been pocketing EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funding intended for Scotland since 2014.
The initial £80 million will be distributed to support active farming, with a focus on those who farm in marginal uplands, hill farms and island areas.
SNP MSP Maree Todd said: “This is money that was hard fought for over many years, and I am delighted for farmers in the Highlands and Islands that the £160 million of convergence money that the UK Government tried to appropriate from Scotland has been returned.
“Scottish farmers have been short-changed by the UK Government for years, and the SNP has argued long and hard for that injustice to be addressed.
“This funding will play a vital role in helping us meet our agricultural commitments and will make a crucial difference to the future viability of Scotland’s farming industry."
Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) chairperson Yvonne White also welcomed the announcement.
She said: "Convergence is about raising the income of the lowest-paid producers towards the EU average. In Scotland these producers are crofters and hill farmers, many of whom are barely surviving – not helped by the very low payments for rough grazing.
"The bulk of the money should therefore rightfully go to regions 2 and 3."
However, there has been heated discussion on how the money should be divided up and not everyone is in agreement.
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant has criticised the SNP for ignoring Scotland’s most marginalised crofters and farmers with regard to convergence funding.
Mrs Grant expressed concern what she saw as a rushed assessment of those who are eligible for additional EU funding, which could result in some farmers and crofters receiving funding that they do not need while others don’t receive enough.
She said: “This money was given to the UK because our Scottish farmers and crofters received less than 90 per cent of the EU average rate per hectare.
“Yet when I asked the cabinet secretary how many Scottish farmers and crofters would still receive less than 90 per cent of the EU rate and how many would receive in excess of it after this money was dispersed he was unable to answer me."
