An extra £51.4 million of farm support will come to Scotland over the next two years as a result of the Bew Review into fair agricultural funding allocations across the UK which has been published today.
The fillip comes just 24 hours after the chancellor confirmed £160m in historic convergence payments would finally be returned to Scottish farmers.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit a farm in Aberdeenshire today to set out how the industry will receive the new money over the next two years and officially accept the funding recommendations of the Bew Review.
Farmers in other parts of the UK will not be penalised by the new allocation as more than £56m of new money has been committed, including over £5m for farmers in Wales.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Mr Johnson said: “Today’s announcement was the first step in making sure future funding is fairly allocated across the UK, taking into account the unique farming environments in Scotland.
“Once we are out of the EU, we will have a historic opportunity to introduce new schemes to support farmers – and we will make sure that Scottish farmers get a fairer deal.”
NFU Scotland president Andrew McCornick welcomed the positive outcome of the Bew Review and the government’s speedy response to its recommendations, on top of the £160m promised in convergence funding.
“Taken together, the two announcements will inject £211m into Scottish agriculture over the next two years. At a time of uncertainty, that represents the largest funding uplift for the sector in recent memory,” he said.
“We thank Lord Bew for undertaking this review and his conclusions on how agricultural funding should be allocated.
We also thank former NFUS president Jim Walker for the tenacity he showed as the Scottish representative on the Bew Review group, and the significant contribution he has made to ensuring future agricultural spending fairly represents the convergence settlement.”
nnicolson@thecourier.co.uk
