The Inquiry highlights five the key challenges: food security, climate change, water supply, energy use and biodiversity. The enquiry also believes that the strength of rural communities is intrinsically inter-linked with a sustainable agricultural industry.
In very simple terms, the report supports the continuation of public sector funding post-2013, but suggests that more should be demanded in return. Specifically, the support will be linked to the LFA. Within the LFA, payments will come from an area-based support, a top-up payment and coupled beef calf and lamb schemes. This support acknowledges the dependence on livestock in the LFA regions and the limited ability to respond to market forces.
Outside the LFA, the support will come from an area-based support and a top-up payment only, and this acknowledges the increased flexibility that the better agricultural conditions allow.
Downloads:
The full report: The Road Ahead for Scotland
The Executive Summary
The Scottish Government announcement
There is a view from the NFUS on the Moorland Forum's Blog.
A good, thought provoking report. On a lesser scale, Defra has appointed a senior civil servant, Jeremy Epple to focus on upland farming in England to address the issues raised in the Commission for Rural Communities recent report on the uplands and one of Defra's actions in its structural reform plan to," Develop affordable measures of support for hill farmers" in preparation for the 2013 CAP reform. His findings are expected to feed into the forthcoming Natural Environment White Paper and a Ministerial statement by March 2011.
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