Scots new entrants struggle with high land values
© Rex New farming entrants will continue to be disadvantaged if land ownership in Scotland isn’t broadened, according to land reform campaigner Andy Wightman.
Speaking at the Scottish Agricultural Arbiters and Valuers Association (SAAVA) AGM in Stirling this week (Tuesday, 12 March), Mr Wightman described the pattern of land ownership in Scotland as “deeply problematic” and said it was vital that land was held far more widely than it is at the moment.
New entrants struggled to get a foothold in the industry because farmland values were too high, claimed Mr Wightman.
“It’s very difficult to get into an industry where so many of the assets are held for speculative purposes. I do think we need to do something about Scottish land and whose hands it is in,” he said.
By allowing more people access to the land in Scotland, in terms of both ownership and control, the country would become a “fairer and wealthier place”, he said.
The distribution of farm subsidy was also imbalanced, Mr Wightman said.
He criticised the fact payments made to Scotland’s top 50 subsidy recipients had increased from £22m in 2008 to £35m in 2011, and proposed capping payments at £100,000 a farmer to claw back nearly £54m, which could then be redistributed.
In addition, Mr Wightman called for more land policy and agricultural administration to be delivered at a local level to make it more accountable.
“Governance in Scotland and the UK as a whole is far too centralised – agricultural administration needs to be accountable at a local level,” he said.