The Scottish Government’s mission to plant more trees on marginal land – and this week’s forestry support fillip of £150 million – has been branded a threat to the tenant farming sector.
According to the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association (STFA), the funding will lead to more land being diverted into forestry, which will close off opportunities for new blood to enter agriculture.
STFA chairman Christopher Nicholson welcomed some environmental aspects of the Programme for Government, but claimed the focus on tree planting means tenant farmers are now facing a “double whammy”.
“Firstly, land available for new entrants and others to rent will become even scarcer as landowners see tree planting as an attractive alternative to tenant farming,” he said.
“Existing tenancy arrangements are already in danger of not being renewed and STFA is aware of some secure tenants who are being put under pressure to relinquish their land for forestry development.
“Secondly, at a time when farmers are being urged to diversify, tenant farmers find themselves restricted from taking part in some environmental schemes, including woodland creation, due to the terms of their lease.”
Mr Nicholson conceded that farmers with security of tenure are able to plant trees with the consent of their landlords.
However, he said legal constraints usually prove to be a disincentive, which means tenants are not operating on a level playing field with owner-occupiers.
STFA has requested a meeting with Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing to discuss ways in which tenants could take advantage of forestry options and to seek assurances that existing tenants would be protected from having to give up land without adequate compensation.
nnicolson@thecourier.co.uk
