Kicker: Union hits out at failure to tackle soaring costs
By Ewan Pate
NFU SCOTLAND president Martin Kennedy has insisted he does not feel constrained by his position on the Agricultural Reform Implementation Oversight Board (ARIOB).
His defence comes following weeks of mounting criticism over the lack of progress in farm policy development, which the board he jointly chairs with Rural Affairs Secretary, Mairi Gougeon, has played a key role in.
This week (September 6), the NFUS board met Ms Gougeon in an attempt to obtain some clarity on the direction of travel in the ARIOB and elsewhere within Scottish Government.
Speaking after the boardmeeting, MrKennedy concentrated his fire on the recent launch of the consultation on the Agriculture Bill. He regarded it is as an open goal which had been missed by a mile.
He said: I fully accept that this Bill is about the powers necessary to deliver primary legislation, but the industry needs to see future policy options.
This consultation was poorly communicated, when the industry should already be discussing how precious support will be made available so that we can build some confidence. The Cabinet Secretary must turn that around.
The industry is reeling from a relentless succession of shocks on costs. Diesel prices have doubled, fertiliser prices have trebled, electricity costs are five times higher and, from next week, carbon dioxide prices are forecast to increase 21-fold.
There are elements of the Scottish food and drink sector facing significant restructuring or closure on the Cabinet Secretarys watch, while consumers are counting the cost at the till.
Mr Kennedy went on to say the penny had not dropped with the Scottish or UK Governments on the impact soaring inputs costs are having.
He also suggested Scottish Ministers had lost out on the chance to get ahead of the game with its dedicated food security unit, announced in June.
That crisis remains deepest in our pig sector where sow numbers are already thought to have fallen by more than 20 per cent, he added.
We have presented the Cabinet Secretary with proposals for an ongoers scheme that would allow our pig producers to restructure the unprecedented levels of debt they have built up trying to keep afloat.
That proposal remains on the Cabinet Secretarys desk without a decision while we run the risk of losing critical mass in that sector.
