Agriculture / New report shines a light on agriculture in Scotland’s islands
THE SCOTTISH Government has been urged to take into account a new in-depth report on agriculture in Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles when setting future policy.
The report, produced by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), highlights the unique role agriculture plays in island life and concludes that future policy proposals present risks for some island economies, environments and communities.
The study also confirmed that agriculture accounts for a higher share of private businesses, turnover and employment, as well as the proportion of total adult population, in these communities compared to other local authorities in Scotland.
Speaking on behalf of the three island areas, Orkney Islands Council leader Heather Woodbridge said: “We welcome the publication of this research from SRUC that highlights the critical role the agriculture sector plays in our island communities.
“The report demonstrates clearly that our agricultural sector is woven into the fabric of our communities and the role it plays in managing the environment of our beautiful islands.
“I would urge the Scottish Government to factor this report into their evidence-based policy making approach when forming the Rural Support Plan, Rural Delivery Plan and National Islands Plan, as well as other secondary legislation accompanying the Agriculture and Rural Communities Bill.
“What is abundantly clear, is that our farmers are proud of the very important role that they play in our communities and that with appropriate policy and other support, agriculture can contribute to buoyant island economies and strong island communities.”
Responding to the report, the Scottish Government’s rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “Evidence based policy making is crucial to addressing the unique challenges and opportunities faced by our island communities.
“This report offers valuable insights that will help us to make informed decisions around how we continue to support the sustainable development of our islands.”
The report is called Rural and Agricultural Development: Maximising the potential in the islands of Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides, and can be downloaded here.
It presents findings from a project to assess the potential impacts of forthcoming agricultural and associated policy changes to farming and land use.
One of the key messages was that a national, one size fits all approach across Scotland cannot address the differences between the three island groups.
The data appears to show that in Shetland there are less farming and crofting ventures now than there were in years gone by, with a narrowing economic base.
For example in 2021 there were 1,125 holdings with sheep compared to 1,538 in 2000.
Meanwhile in 2000 there were 347 full-time occupiers and spouses on agricultural holdings, but that figure for 2021 was 232.
It added that 11 per cent of 16-75 year olds in Shetland directly work on farms or crofts for at least part of their time. This increases to more than one third for Northmavine, Yell, Unst and Fetlar.
The report also notes how connectivity – both in transport and digitally – remains an issue.
More generally the SRUC says the agricultural sector across all island groups is “constrained by several critical factors, including the unreliability and higher costs of haulage of inputs to and selling outputs from islands, uncertainty over future provision of ferry services, an ageing and shrinking workforce and inflation impacts that have eroded the government’s financial support for farmers and crofters”.
The SRUC added: “Practical and policy solutions need to be found to retain agricultural and environmental activity in respect of crofting and common grazings, particularly in Shetland and the Outer Hebrides.”
Professor Steven Thomson, who led the research for the SRUC, said: “This work was an opportunity to utilise a wide array of data and learn from the lived-in experiences of locals to stress-test some of the thinking on future agricultural policy in Scotland through an island community lens.
“I personally gained a deeper appreciation of the challenges faced by farmers and crofters in these islands.
“Importantly, the study allowed space to consider how, for example: conditional support may impact common grazings; how compliance costs may have disproportionate impacts on the smallest farms and crofts, and that opportunities to deliver better policy solutions such as redistributive support or small-recipient schemes exist.
“We hope this new evidence can act as a catalyst for considering placed based impacts in a just transition as policy decisions are pondered in coming months and years.”
Meanwhile Labour’s Highlands and Islands MSP Rhoda Grant said the “report shows that islands face disadvantage in terms of agricultural funding structures and tiered support”.
She also noted how the report was only made available after the Scottish Parliament passed the Agriculture and Rural Communities Bill in late June.
“By delaying this report until consideration of the bill has concluded, suggests that the SNP Government do not want to address these concerns which is a damning indictment and can only be interpreted as an attempt to do down our island communities,” Grant said.
“Had we been given sight of this report, the parliament could have put forward amendments to the Agriculture Bill to ensure that the island-specific rural issues that are flagged in this study were addressed.”
Lib Dem Orkney MSP Liam McArthur said ministers and officials “must now ensure that future agriculture policy is ‘island proofed’” by using the findings of the report.
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