As we approach the Scottish Government’s Budget on Tuesday, it is impossible to ignore the context in which it will be delivered. Public finances are under unprecedented pressure. Ministers face difficult choices, with competing demands from health, education, social security, housing and local government all vying for limited resources.
I recognise those realities - no Budget is ever easy.
But it is precisely because the choices are so difficult that the decisions taken on agriculture and the rural economy matter so much.
Farming and crofting are not optional extras. Funding for active farming and crofting underpins far more than high-quality food production. It sustains the viability of our rural economy and so underpins fragile communities, rural jobs, as well as the management of over 70 per cent of Scotland’s land and plays a central role in delivering on climate and nature ambitions.
Yet too often by some, agricultural funding is framed as a cost rather than an investment. In reality, it is one of the most powerful levers the Scottish Government has to achieve its own policy objectives - from food security and economic resilience to climate mitigation and thriving rural communities.
If Ministers want outcomes, they must fund the people who deliver them. Pressures on budgets cannot mean even greater pressure on the farmers and crofters delivering for Scotland day in and day out.
The current financial climate has led to understandable scrutiny of all areas of public spending. However, reducing or destabilising funding for farming and crofting would be a false economy.
Agricultural businesses are already operating under intense pressure: rising input costs, market volatility, regulatory change, and the ongoing transition to new support frameworks. Removing certainty or reducing support at this stage risks pushing viable businesses beyond the point where they can invest, adapt or even survive.
That would undermine, not advance, the Scottish Government’s ambitions for a greener, fairer and more resilient rural Scotland.
Delivery depends on active farming and crofting
Scotland’s climate and nature targets are rightly ambitious. But ambition alone will not deliver results.
Emissions reductions and the drive to net zero, biodiversity enhancement, water quality improvement and animal welfare outcomes all rely on farmers and crofters actively managing land and livestock. These outcomes do not happen by accident - they require skills, investment, time and trust.
Increased, multi-annual and ring-fenced funding for active farming and crofting is therefore not just desirable, it is essential. Without it, the policy framework risks becoming disconnected from the practical realities on the ground.
Stability, certainty and confidence
It's never been clearer to me about what our sector needs from this Budget:
- A clear commitment to increasing agricultural funding to a level that reflects inflation and rising costs - and the additional expectations to deliver on Scotland's priorities
- Certainty during the transition to the new support framework and what that will ask of active farmers and crofters
- Recognition that direct support remains critical to a sustainable farming and crofting sector and all that it underpins
Above all, farmers and crofters need confidence that the Scottish Government sees them as partners in delivery - not as a budget line to be squeezed.
A strategic choice for Scotland
Every Budget is a statement of priorities.
Continuing to commit funding to active farming and crofting would send a powerful signal that the Scottish Government understands the strategic importance of domestic food production, rural prosperity and land-based climate solutions.
In a time of global uncertainty, investing in Scotland’s farmers and crofters is investing in resilience, sustainability and long-term value for the whole country.
The Scottish Government Budget is not just about balancing the books for the year ahead. It is about shaping the Scotland we want for the future. And that future depends on a thriving, supported and confident farming and crofting sector.