With support for Scottish independence growing, a leader of the yes campaign has claimed that breaking away from the UK will have huge benefits for farmers.

Speaking at the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists’ Congress, Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond said an independent Scotland will be able to negotiate a better CAP deal. He said if Scotland had negotiated as well as Ireland, farmers would have received an extra €2.5bn of funding.

“In the most recent CAP negotiations Scotland was represented by the UK minister for agriculture. They managed to negotiate Scotland right to the bottom of the funding league tables,” he said.

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“By 2019 Dutch farmers will receive €403/ha; Italian farmers will get €363/ha, Danish farmers will get €332/ha, German €298/ha, Irish €261/ha, Finnish €230/ha, and Swedish €229/ha. In contrast, by 2019 Scottish farmers will get only €128/ha – the lowest payment in Europe.”

Salmond added that agriculture will form an integral part of an independent Scotland’s success.

“Among our extraordinary assets is our €12bn farming and food industry. In five years we have increased exports by 50%. This is based on the quality of produce coming from Scotland.”