THINGS aren't necessarily all doom and gloom for Scottish farming, even with the level of political unrest currently being experienced across the sector and the country as a whole.

This was the message from Royal Bank of Scotland director of agriculture, Roddy McLean, as the banking giant geared up once again to deliver on its partnership with the Royal Highland Show.

Mr McLean observed that the country was in a period of massive political uncertainty, but pointed out that there was an element of having to 'wait and see' before anyone would know its full impact on the farming world in Scotland, and throughout the UK as a whole.

He explained: “There is much uncertainty in the sector due to the ongoing process of exiting the EU and the resultant impact this will have on trading relationships and future farm support. Brexit has compounded issues that were already on the horizon, and we will now need to see how that is going to pan out for us in the coming weeks, months, and indeed years."

But he expressed his faith in farmers and those involved in the sector as a whole, when it comes to dealing with these times of change: "Farmers have, time and time again, proven themselves to be very adaptable and resilient when it comes to times of unrest and change, and we have full faith in the the agricultural sector being the same in this instance.

"One thing we would hope, however, is that the period of change is not too long. In our experience, the longer you give people to mull over things and make decisions, the more chance you have of people deciding to 'sit on their hands', and stalling making definitive choices and giving the farming world the answers they are waiting for," he said.

"However, despite the current uncertainty and the associated concerns within the sector, we remain optimistic about the future prospects for farming in Scotland. We are continuing to invest in our people to ensure they are well placed to support the sector."

His views were backed by RBS group economist Marcus Wright, who said that, although it had suffered at the hands of the sharp fall in oil prices since 2014, the Scottish economy was showing signs of slight improvement.

"There has been more widespread weakness in sectors of Scotland’s economy that have limited dependence on oil and gas, so while the UK economy expanded by 3.6% in the two years to end 2016, Scotland only managed a 1.2% rise," said Mr Wright.

"The expectation is for Scotland’s performance to improve somewhat but with growth remaining short of the wider UK. Overall, it can be easy to somewhat overestimate the influence on the economy of political uncertainty. Generally, what drives the economy are the issues that take place regardless. Scotland had a weaker starting point to work from, but the country will undoubtedly move forward and continue to combat changes that are inevitably on the horizon."