Scottish Greens welcome enhanced agriculture payments
The Scottish Greens have welcomed the Scottish Government’s commitment to ensuring that agricultural payments deliver for nature, climate and people.
This follows a statement by the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, Mairi Gougeon MSP, on the Scottish Government’s strategy to reform agricultural support in Scotland.
In the statement the Minister announced the launch of a new enhanced payment. This will see a new payment that is linked to the contribution farmers and crofters make in delivering our climate and nature objectives.
This will help deliver on the commitment from the Bute House Agreement, which was negotiated between the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Government, to create an agricultural support system that delivers public, biodiversity and climate targets while supporting food production and farming.
The Scottish Greens agriculture spokesperson, Ariane Burgess MSP said:
“Since three quarters of Scotland’s land is under agricultural management, our farmers and crofters have an essential role to play in our national efforts to prevent climate and nature breakdown and enhance food security.”
“Meeting our climate and nature commitments inevitably means change for farmers and crofters, who will need to do more to protect and restore carbon in soils, for example, and to create wildlife habitats on farms.
“The new enhanced payments will support the sector in delivering this change and taking the opportunities presented by the transition to net-zero.”