Secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, Caroline Spelman visited Scottish growers and farmers last week and described their produce as “the envy of the world”.
During her visit Spelman talked to those within the industry about how they would like to see the EU”s Common Agricultural Policy reformed in order to allow for continued success. “Scotland’s produce is becoming the envy of the world thanks to the hard work of fishermen, farmers and everyone else involved in food and drink production,” she said. “The success that the industry achieved in 2011 was phenomenal and brought enormous benefits to the economy of not just Scotland but the whole of the UK. We must now find a way to make sure that the industry can thrive by reforming the Common Agriculture Policy Policy in a way that allows farmers to continue to be successful in the future.”
At a time when talk of a referendum on Scottish independence is making headlines, NFU Scotland welcomed the visit and renewed open dialogue with Spelman. The Union’s top team, including president Nigel Miller, vice-presidents Allan Bowie and John Picken, chief executive Scott Walker and policy and the regions director, Jonnie Hall gathered with the ministers and their staff to ensure that Scotland’s specific issues are to the fore when the UK’s position is negotiated at EU meetings on CAP reform.
Following the meeting, Miller said: “Today’s meeting opened the door for NFUS to feed in specific examples of where the proposals could have unintended consequences that the UK government can share with key negotiating allies at EU meetings. It appears that a top priority for Mrs Spelman is to reach a CAP outcome that allows flexibility for all Member States and regions rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, a position that we fully support.”
