Farm leaders call for an activity-focused Cap

Scots farm leaders have called on the government to deliver a Common Agricultural Policy (Cap) which focuses on activity.

As farm minister Richard Lochhead and his team frantically try to devise a Cap regime for the next five years, industry bodies are busy making pleas on how the regime will work.

Both NFU Scotland and the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association (STFA) this week reiterated their plea for a scheme which targets support at active farmers.

The union has called on the Scottish Government to make 2013 the reference period for claims when the new scheme starts in 2015, and for the creation of a negative list of eligible activities to ensure funds are only given to “real producers”.

Without this, it warned, production was at risk of reducing right up until 2020.

NFU Scotland said limiting the allocation of area-based entitlements in 2015 to the farmed area in 2013, would help put a stop to landlords taking land back in-hand in order to receive any area-based payments on that land in the future.

The union said failure to do this would hit farmers who are heavily reliant on annual grass lets and those who lease land for growing vegetables and tatties.

President Nigel Miller said:  “The option to link the allocation of entitlements to the area of land farmed in 2013 has the potential to create stability in the sector.

“The historic 2013 lock would be supported by the requirement to create a national reserve to ensure new entrants were not disadvantaged.”

He said the Scottish Government’s failure to confirm 2013 as a base year for the new Cap was already having ramifications.

“A land grab has been triggered with some owners of land taking it out of short-term tenancy and grazing arrangements to gain control over the now crucial 2014 and 2015 claim years,” said Mr Miller.

This was backed up by the STFA who said failure to use 2013 as the reference year would be “deeply detrimental for the tenanted sector”.

Chairman Christopher Nicholson said:  “The consequence of the Scottish Government’s reluctance to confirm 2013 as the reference year is already being felt, with many tenants losing land as landlords take land back inhand in a bid to benefit from the new scheme.”

NFU Scotland warned any “dithering” from the Scottish Government over the base year for the new regime would only result in more tenanted and let land being pulled back inhand, the land market destabilising and “great upset” being caused to active and potential farmers.

Mr Miller said the creation of a “robust negative list” to block non-agricultural businesses from receiving direct support must be created.

He said:  “The last Cap period has highlighted how support systems can be used as an investment income.

“The new Cap, based on area payments, opens the gate to a new form of low intensity slipper farming.  A robust negative list can help close that opportunity by excluding other land users unless they can demonstrate a genuine farming enterprise.”