We are calling on the Scottish Government to ensure that the upcoming Agriculture Bill recognises and supports the work of small farms and crofts.
Our current agricultural payments system offers little to no support to small-scale agriculture. Payments to support farmers are given out per hectare of land farmed, essentially using public money to reward people for owning large amounts of land. There is a minimum threshold of 3 ha for receiving these payments, meaning those with less land than this receive nothing. This is much higher than the EU minimum threshold of 1 ha, and excludes many small-scale producers who provide wide-ranging benefits to their local communities.
We urgently need a payment system which is not based on how much land farmers have access to, and which properly values and rewards small-scale farmers and crofters for the essential role they play in the transition to climate-friendly agriculture and the development of a local, sustainable food system in Scotland, in line with the Good Food Nation bill and the Local Food Strategy.
Join us outside the Scottish parliament to share a delicious hot meal made from entirely from food grown on small-scale farms and crofts in Scotland. Farmers and crofters will tell their stories of small-scale food production, and MSPs will be invited by their constituents to join them for food and a discussion on how policy can better support small farms and crofts.
If you can’t join us in person, we will also have a photograph action on social media, which farmers and crofters can participate in from across the country.
