A piece in the Press and Journal says another month and three more reports on the future of agriculture have been added to the pile of reports currently gathering dust on the Scottish Farm Minister’s desk. Dusty reports and waiting farmers
It says, Our new Farm Minister Mairi Gougeon took office in May and yet we have heard nothing from her about the future direction of the industry. Dusty reports and waiting farmers
Frustrated by her lack of action the chairs of the farmer-led groups published an open letter calling on the Scottish Government to provide the leadership needed to turn their recommendations into reality.
They warned Government against setting up another talking shop that produces another set of good intentions but no mechanism to deliver the massive changes that are needed.
Former NFU Scotland president Nigel Miller’s Farming for 1.5 degrees final report, published a couple of weeks ago, is probably the most in-depth and balanced of all the reports to date.
In it they make no attempt to sugar coat or slide over the hard choices that farmers must face up to in the years ahead.
They highlight that “the transformation requires unparalleled investment and Government leadership to make the change”.
They go on to say that “tackling the nature and climate emergencies will require farmers to redefine their role and put delivering for nature and climate on an equal footing with producing food”.
