Elections to the Scottish Parliament take place on Thursday 7 May. In this series we look at what decisions are made in our parliament which affect daily lives in Scotland. So far we’ve looked at Education, NHS Scotland, Transport, Migration, Energy, and Housing.
Farming and Fishing.
Powers over Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries are devolved to the Scottish Parliament.
The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 perhaps made the public realise, more than ever before in recent times, how crucial food security is, and how reliant Scotland and rUK has become on imported foods and trade.
The Fishing and Farming sectors have been significantly impacted by the UK leaving the world’s largest free trade area, the European Union (EU). This has had a negative impact across all of Scotland, and Orkney has felt the force of this more than most areas.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funding was the largest source of funding from the EU to Scotland with over £500million coming each year from Europe to Scotland.
When the UK left the EU, there was a transitional period, however, now all funding for Farming comes from the UK Government. DEFRA (the UK’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), has the final say, for even though the power to the Scottish Parliament is devolved, the UK Parliament will always make the ultimate decisions.
Farming
Farm income in Scotland rose in the last year, mostly due to the increase in livestock prices. It had seen a sharp decrease in 2023/24.
There is a mixed picture across Scotland’s farming sector.
- Dairy farm incomes rose by 85% to an average of £218,500, the second highest income in our time series. This was driven by high cattle and milk prices.
- Livestock farms, which make up 60% of commercial farms, also saw rises in income on average, driven by higher cattle output. LFA cattle farms saw the highest incomes among livestock farms, rising 88% to £40,800.
- Average incomes of arable farms remain higher than those of livestock farms. But within the sector, some farms make large profits while others make a loss. In 2024-25, 40% of cereal and 25% of general cropping farms are loss-making. More farms made a loss than in the previous year.
Click on this link for more information: Scottish farm business income: annual estimates 2024-2025
Fishing
It should be noted that Scotland has never been able to negotiate with other nations over fishing quotas. That power is retained by the UK Government.
The Scottish fishing industry value in 2024 was £734 million. This is the highest value (adjusted to 2024 prices) of the last ten years. Scottish fishing vessels landed 532 thousand tonnes of sea fish and shellfish, the greatest tonnage of the last ten years. A summary of the headline numbers are:
- Scottish vessels landed 532 thousand tonnes of sea fish and shellfish in 2024. An increase of eight per cent compared to 2023 and an increase of 33 per cent compared to 2020.
- Scottish vessels landed £734 million of sea fish and shellfish in 2024. Adjusted to 2024 prices, this is an increase of three per cent compared to 2023, and of 27 percent compared to 2020.
- Scottish vessels landed 191 thousand tonnes of sea fish and shellfish worth £189 million abroad in 2024. Landings abroad make up 36 per cent of tonnage and 26 per cent by value.
- Mackerel remained the most valuable species in 2024 worth £285 million, making up 39 per cent of the total value of Scottish vessels’ landings.
- Haddock was the most valuable demersal species and represented six per cent of the total value of Scottish vessels’ landings.
- In 2024, 1,485 tonnes of creeled Nephrops were landed by Scottish vessels with a value of £17 million. 17 thousand tonnes of trawled Nephrops were landed worth £64 million.
The number of Scottish fishing vessels has decreased. It may surprise those who do not live in coastal and island communities, but the Scottish fleet is dominated by vessels that are 10 metres and under in length with a total of 1,525 vessels falling into this category in 2024. The small vessel fishing fleet has seen a 5% decrease in 10 years.
There are 26 Scottish vessels which are over 40 metres. These make up just one per cent of the number of vessels but landed 52 per cent of the value of all landings and 99 per cent of the value of pelagic landings.
The number of people employed in fishing has seen a considerable decline, falling by 15% in 10 years. In 2024 3,735 fishers were working on Scottish vessels, also a decrease from the previous year.
Click on this link for more information : Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics 2024
Scotland’s Farming and Fishing sectors are success stories, despite the rise in costs and the loss of EU funding which has never been matched by successive UK Governments.
The Scottish Parliament passes Bills which directly affect Scotland’s farming and fishing industries. The Scottish Government through how it allocates its budget has the ability to fund the sectors to a certain extent.
NFUS supports the SNP Scottish Government’s broader ambition to develop a modernised agricultural support framework. However, for this transition to be meaningful, it must deliver tangible improvements for those actively farming the land.- writes Lucy McGillivray.
A future system must:
• Prioritise genuine, active agricultural activity
• Reflect the diversity of Scotland’s regions and land types
• Base support on current, rather than historic, production levels
• Be implemented in a timely manner to prevent further loss of agricultural capacity
Crucially, it must strike a balance, supporting both productivity and the sustainability of extensive systems that are vital to Scotland’s landscape and rural economy, and which underpin rural communities. – Moving Beyond LFASS Rebasing and Focusing on Practical Support
Enhanced Greening
This controversial issue as laid down by the SNP Scottish Government aims to improve native habitat and biodiversity.
You must comply with a) protecting permanent grassland designated as environmentally sensitive, and/or b) manage 5% (7% from 2027) of your arable land as Ecological Focus Areas (“EFA” – arable land managed per the following options:- fallow land, margins, catch crops, green cover, nitrogen-fixing crops, hedges, agro-forestry, herb and legume rich pastures, unharvested crop, low input grassland or low density trees)
There’s a proposed budget set aside for this of £142million. Its effects if applied to the whole of Scotland, without regional variations being taken into account, would damage the Successful farming sector in Orkney. Click on this link for more information: Rural Support Plan (RSP) – Annex.
Similarly with the Fishing Sector, and Scotland’s plans to protect our seas – one size does not fit all. Consultation by any Scottish Government – taking into account the Islands Act – a genuine consultation, of those who produce our food is vital.
MSPs in the next Scottish Parliament will be making the decisions which will directly affect both Farming and Fishing – successful Scottish industries, but more than that – essential elements of our culture and heritage.
Fiona Grahame.