We can only deliver on Scottish Government's ambitions on nature and biodiversity by engaging with farmers and crofters writes NFU Scotland Senior Policy Manager Sarah Cowie.
But a lack of clarity from Scottish Government on policy and funding is hindering progress.
That was the ‘take home’ message delivered by Sarah when she addressed an online policy conference on the next steps for biodiversity and nature protection this week.
After addressing the conference, Sarah writes: “We are going through a period of great change and Scotland’s farmers and crofters know that they will have a greater part to play in delivering the next steps for climate and nature. They are already responding to the challenge.
“And with the conditionality attached to future agricultural support payments, it means that for some activities, they will be paid to deliver these outcomes.
“But they also have to produce food to support an ever-growing global population. And they have to ensure their businesses are resilient in the face of an increasingly unstable world. And they must continue supporting the rural community in which they live, by providing local jobs and sustaining businesses down the supply chain.
“All of these things are not directly contradictory, and if done correctly, they can be complementary. But the fact of the matter is that this is incredibly difficult. And if we are to achieve all these things together, Scotland’s farmers and crofters need support, guidance and assurance from Scottish Government.
“On the one hand, we need certainty from the Scottish Government around the policy and legislation. The Scottish Parliament passed the Agriculture & Rural Communities Act in June.
“This is good news for our industry. But there’s still a lot of unknowns around what this will mean for farmers and crofters in the day-to-day.
“We don’t even know what the agricultural budget will look like in the coming years. That is why we are calling for a multi-annual funding commitment – to provide certainty.
“And when it comes to actions to improve nature, we are even more unclear.
“In our submission to the consultation on Scotland’s biodiversity strategy last December, we said that it the actions in the delivery plan were so high-level that it was impossible for our members to understand how it would affect them. Now, almost a year later, and we still don’t have much more in terms of detail.
“We urgently need answers on what a new agri-environment climate scheme will look like through Tier 3, or how tree planting on farm will be encouraged through Tier 4.
“It still remains to be seen how the biodiversity audit and accompanying mobile phone app are going to work in practice.
“Without this clarity and certainty, farmers and crofters will not have the ability to do what they can for nature. Farming and crofting are long-term industries, and this uncertainty that we have on these issues is hindering progress.
“Another assurance that our farmers and crofters need is that food production is a vital part of policies around biodiversity and nature. In our view, the two go hand in hand. But policies must be designed in such a way to enable this. It won’t happen by accident.
“The alternative is that agriculture as an industry in Scotland struggles to survive. This would be devastating.
“We need the critical mass of active farming in key agricultural areas to continue. This is vital for food production, the rural economy, and biodiversity. We cannot deliver on the Scottish Government's ambitions on nature without farmers and crofters – if there is one message to take away from this conference today, it is that.
“The other side of the coin is the social and cultural changes that will have to be made. This cannot be underestimated. If we want to improve nature and restore biodiversity, we need a narrative shift away from the perception that farmers and crofters are not interested in biodiversity. For many, looking after and caring for biodiversity is part of their way of life.
“The main positive from the biodiversity strategy and delivery plan is that it will allow those actively farming the land to highlight what they are doing.
“But we do need to acknowledge that for the industry, this is a seismic shift. And this can be daunting. Farmers and crofters know they can do more to help nature and biodiversity, and in fact, they are the best people to do this. But they will also need to be supported – whether it’s being trained in a new technology or app or going along to a peer-to-peer knowledge exchange group.
“If the Scottish Government is serious about a Just Transition, we need investment and to foster an environment where collaboration and innovation is the norm. We don’t want our farmers and crofters to be forced to change. We want them to be empowered so they are excited by the prospects, rather than threatened by them.”