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Boris Johnson’s promise to give more funding to Scottish farmers has "alarmed" the Ulster Farmers' Union. It says that the fairest measure for allocating farm funding is agricultural output, otherwise known as coupled supports.
Scottish farmers were promised an extra £25m per year by Boris Johnson when he visited last week.
“We are seeking clarity about where this additional money will come from. Any suggested reduction in the amount of agricultural support for Northern Ireland is cause for widespread concern and something we are firmly opposed to,” UFU president, Ivor Ferguson said.
Scottish farmers were promised an extra £25m per year by Boris Johnson when he visited last week
“Our long-held view is that the most equitable way to allocate farming subsidy between the UK regions is based on agricultural output and we can see no justification for amending the current UK formula.”
The Conservative party leadership candidate said that the additional funding is to ensure that Scottish farmers are “no longer left behind by unfair funding allocations between the UK’s constituent countries”.
An additional £25m to Scotland would make payments per hectare the same across all parts of the UK.
The Scottish National Farmers' Union (NFUS) has cautiously welcomed Johnson’s pledge. However, it would like more clarity on how it would be funded.
“Since the decision was taken in 2013 to distribute additional Common Agricultural Policy funding among the four nations of the UK, NFU Scotland has consistently campaigned to redress the funding shortfall suffered by Scottish farmers and crofters,” NFU Scotland president Andrew McCornick said.
He added that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the new prime minister must recognise that “the market support required by industry from government will be significant and will far surpass £25m, which will be a drop in the ocean compared to the financial damage that could be inflicted on industry”.
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