Crofters being driven out of business

​The research, based on a study of Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles, was commissioned by the three islands councils and HIE. It found that current legislative proposals present further “risks for island economies, the environments and communities”.

While the islands have a higher level of involvement with agriculture than any other local authority areas, the report warns that “complexity and compliance costs of policy proposals may lead to further withdrawal from support structures and activity, particularly for small scale producers”.

It suggests “a ‘light touch’ scheme for small producers and/or a more general redistribution to increase payment rates on the first few hectares of each business”.

The report highlights the ineffectual nature of supposed “island-proofing” of legislation and questions “when, how, why and by whom decisions are taken to proceed for not with a full Islands Community Impact Assessment after the initial screening exercise has been undertaken”.

It adds: “In particular, whilst individual policy measures viewed in isolation may not merit a full ICIA, measures viewed collectively in-the-round may do so”. The recent example of the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill is quoted as an example of how island interests were sidelined.

“The Scottish Government concluded that a ‘full Islands Community Impact Assessment is NOT required’. However, given the framework nature of the Bill, this is not surprising since impacts will depend on the more specific policy measures subsequently introduced …Hence whilst a full ICIA may not yet be appropriate, it is likely to become so once more policy details are available through (e.g.) the Rural Support Plan”.

The wide-ranging report says that “lack of access to affordable housing to buy and rent is already a significant challenge for most of Scotland’s island…. it has the potential to further hold back business and population growth in many islands in future. We found evidence of too much focus on development in existing settlements at the expense of smaller communities”. Allowing greater local flexibility in finding housing solutions is recommended.

Common grazings are identified as an under-utilised resource due to declining agricultural activity. The report states: “The absence of proposals in relation to common grazings (66% of Outer Hebrides’ agricultural area) is particularly concerning and the challenges of collective management under crofting legislation should be viewed as meriting additional specific support; a proportion of common grazing land is already not claiming support funding. The role and capacity of the Crofting Commission in this was raised repeatedly as an issue”.

More widely, the report states: “Evidence on the impacts of peripherality and distance from markets must be embedded in future support schemes such as evolutions of, for example, the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) and the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme”.

It suggests: “Such disproportionalities could be addressed through a ‘light touch’ scheme for small producers and/or a more general redistribution to increase payment rates on the first few hectares of each business plus explicit funding (or direct staffing support) for collective management of (especially) common grazings”.

The report points out the environmental implications of continuing decline in agricultural activity: “Equally, island areas contain a high proportion of environmental designations and priority habitats (e.g. Machair, peatlands) and species (e.g. wading birds, corncrakes, hen harriers), reflecting an abundance of valued natural capital largely created and maintained through High Nature Value (low intensity) land management.

“Hence what happens to farming and crofting matters economically, environmentally and socially in the three island areas”.

Professor Steven Thomson from SRUC, who led the research, 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.”

He added: “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.”