NFUS Group to look at Welsh New Entrant Model for SRDP

NFU Scotland’s New Generation group is heading to Wales to see if the Welsh New Entrant/Young Farmer model could be adopted as part of Scotland’s future rural development plans.

In a packed two-day programme, the Group will attend WelshSheep 2013 at Llandeilo tomorrow (Tuesday, 20 May) and meet with Welsh Minister Alun Davies the following day (Wednesday, 21 May).  The trip will also include farm visits to those who have benefited from the Welsh scheme and meetings on succession, taxation and mentoring.

In Scotland, the Scottish Government is currently consulting on how the rural development  (Pillar Two) strand of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) could be delivered in Scotland from 2015 onwards. The Union’s New Generation group is keen to feed in constructive proposals to the SRDP consultation on how a new entrant scheme could work in Scotland.

Ahead of the visit, New Generation group chairman, Iain Mackay from Mull said:

“The Union continues to put considerable energy into ensuring new and developing farm businesses are best placed to contribute to the Scottish farming sector in the future, and the New Generation group is looking to drive that forward.

“The current consultation on Scotland’s future rural development programme offers the group an opportunity to ensure that the SRDP properly caters for the new generation of agricultural businesses in our sector.  Given the success of the Welsh Assembly New Entrant/Young Farmer scheme within its equivalent of the SRDP, we will be meeting a number of stakeholder, including the Welsh Minister Alun Davies, to gain a better understanding of how their scheme operates.  

“An important part of the trip will be meeting Welsh farmers who have accessed the scheme to hear from them first hand the positive and negative aspects of how it has worked for them.

“The trip will also help set the agenda for a series of regional meetings the New Generation group plans to hold in June.  Those regional meetings will be an opportunity to tell a wider young farmer audience what the New Generation group priorities are and the importance of new and developing businesses engaging in the policy discussions that could impact on their plans.

“These are very important times for those just starting out in farming or who want to get involved.  The Scottish Government announced a £2 million package of support for New Entrants at the Union’s AGM in February and details on how to access that funding are now available.  That is welcome and through our involvement on the Cabinet Secretary’s New Entrants Forum, we want to ensure that funding gets distributed to the right recipients and as quickly as possible.

“The Union has also asked that those who are farming without the benefit of support through Single Farm Payment or the Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme also be considered as a priority group when the Cabinet Secretary decides how his £6 million weather aid package is to be spent.

“While ensuring new entrants are considered within any new rural development package for Scotland, we must also make sure that Pillar One arrangements that emerge from the ongoing CAP Reform discussions also ensure the new generation are accounted for from the outset.  The Union is committed to a national reserve in year one of reform to ensure all businesses currently locked out of support by our historic system gain full support from 2015.”  

Notes to Editors

• NFU Scotland’s New Generation group was given an award from the Tennents Caledonian Best seed fund to organise a study trip.
• The New Generation Group will travel to Wales on Tuesday 21 May for a three day study trip taking in a programme of events, farm visits and meetings with politicians and officials to discuss the Welsh New Entrants Scheme.

Ends

Contact Bob Carruth on 0131 472 4006