POLICY DECISIONS by the Scottish Government – particularly its rush to plant trees – are driving depopulation of rural areas.

This was one of the key messages delivered by NFU Scotland’s president Martin Kennedy during his opening address to the union’s annual AGM on Thursday, February 10.

Giving an update to members on the current state of play in farming, he observed that there had never been a time where so many outside influences were causing concern to all sectors at the same time.

Turning firstly to labour challenges, he accused the Home Office of ignoring concerns raised by the industry over their immigration policy.

"Despite there being ample evidence of farmers having already decided not to grow some crop, there is a real reluctance from the Home Office who seem to be burying their heads in the sand, to understand they are undermining their own economy."

After NFUS’ Autumn conference, Mr Kennedy and his team met with Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon and Minister Mairi McAllan where he said they fully took on board their concerns over the impact of planting trees for carbon credits. However, he added: "Something that is not talked about enough on this subject is the socio-economic loss driven by depopulation of rural areas by trees. Rural depopulation is something we keep saying we want to avoid, yet policy decisions are driving exactly that.

"They agreed to look into this further and look at how a proper long-term impact assessment can be carried out to look at the unintended consequences of this practice. We have consistently said we are not against trees, indeed they can be of huge benefit for many reasons on farm, but they need to be in the right place for the right reasons."

Reflecting back on COP26, Mr Kennedy said that the event highlighted more than ever the importance of addressing global food security and stressed that it is equally important as tackling climate and environment issues.

He noted that with high inflation costs which were already hitting the industry, it wouldn’t be long until food inflation became the next concern.

Read more: Farmland cleared of people as trees take over

“If agriculture in Scotland and indeed throughout the rest of the UK is put in a position whereby the only way forward is to produce less, then our industry, the wider industries that rely on us, and ultimately the economy will simply implode. And if governments think our consumers are angry at the cost of inflation now, then watch this space, food shortages have always been the biggest cause of civil unrest," he noted.

Looking ahead to a future agricultural policy outside of the Common Agricultural Policy he concluded: “In Scotland, we have a fantastic opportunity to create a future policy and support structure that focuses on the positives of what we are providing. However, we also have to be mindful that we have an Internal Market Act and a Subsidy Control Bill that may limit what we need to do to fit Scotland’s needs. Focusing on active agriculture is absolutely vital if we are to keep the critical mass that underpins the wider economy that relies on farming and crofting. "