The First Minister has been urged to ‘stop using farmers as a scapegoat’ and return the remaining £46m of funding to the Scottish agriculture budget when he addresses the NFU Scotland Conference next week.
Humza Yousaf will deliver a keynote speech at the annual event in Glasgow on Friday, February 9, while rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon will be in attendance to host a question and answer session.
The call from the Scottish Conservatives comes two weeks after Ms Gougeon announced that just £15m would be returned to the rural portfolio in the 2024-25 budget.
Previously, the budget had been slashed by £46m, with the promise the cash would be returned to the rural portfolio.
Scottish Conservative rural affairs spokesperson Rachael Hamilton MSP said: “The SNP’s silence on cuts to Scotland’s agriculture funding has been deafening but Humza Yousaf now has the chance to deliver the money that his government promised to farmers at the NFUS Conference next week.
“I’m deeply concerned at the uncertainty that our farming industry is facing under this Scottish Government after Mairi Gougeon’s announcement that just 25% of the funding would be returned.
“Farming is central to Scotland’s domestic economy, and it is only right that those who work in our agricultural sector are appropriately supported, but at the moment it’s clear they are not.
“Next week, Humza Yousaf must stop using farmers as a scapegoat and instead honour the SNP's previous promise and guarantee the return of this vital funding or risk Scotland’s food security and the livelihoods of our farmers.”
Banff and Buchan Conservative MP David Duguid said: “Our farmers, crofters and agricultural workers are repeatedly let down by an SNP-Green Government that only focuses on the Central Belt and does not understand the needs of Scotland’s rural communities.
“Farmers in areas such as Aberdeenshire and Moray want certainty for the future and Humza Yousaf must give them the priority they deserve by announcing that the remaining £46m will be returned as promised.
“The UK Government is backing Scottish farming with £620m this year, recognising their critical importance to this country.
“Typically for the SNP, time after time, they make their own promises to our agricultural sector but fail to deliver.
“Humza Yousaf has the perfect chance next week to announce the full return of this funding which will benefit our farmers both in the north-east and across the rest of Scotland.”
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