Scottish agriculture would have won the “Euro billions jackpot” as an independent country in the latest round of Common Agricultural Policy (Cap) negotiations, according to Alex Salmond.
The first minister slammed UK Environment Secretary Owen Paterson and the Westminster government for negotiating a Cap deal which he said had left Scots farmers missing out.
According to Mr Salmond, an independent Scotland could have negotiated 3.5billion euros more subsidy support between 2014 and 2020.
This, he said, would have come as a result of negotiating 1billion euros extra Pillar 1 support as a result of bringing Scotland’s per hectare payment up to the European average payment of 196 euros per hectare – the external convergence average.
“The UK Government condemned Scotland to the lowest payment rates in Europe. They negotiated an atrocious deal for Scotland and failed to prioritise the needs of our farmers and rural communities,” said Mr Salmond at the Royal Highland Show.
“Scotland’s receives the third lowest payment rate per hectare and by 2020 we will receive the lowest rate. We will get 68 euros per hectare less than the second lowest country.”
He said a further 2.5billion euros could have been negotiated under Pillar 2 if an independent Scotland had negotiated a deal similar to Ireland.
This extra rural development funding would have resulted in a quadrupled budget for food and drink, and a trebled budget for new entrants, said Mr Salmond.
“It is our rural businesses, the agricultural supply chain, families and communities who are missing out on billions of pounds because we have no direct representation in Europe and are represented by UK governments which consistently fail to secure a fair deal for Scotland,” added the first minister.
“Indeed, we have calculated that this entire additional subsidy would support an additional 5,500 jobs and bring in £1.7billion in Gross Value Added over the 2014-2020 period.”
Mr Salmond also confirmed that the farm minister, Richard Lochhead, has been awarded a new job title – cabinet secretary for rural affairs, food and the environment.