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£1.6bn for rural development confirmed |
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Thursday, 31 May 2007 |
Nearly £1.6bn is to be invested in agriculture, forestry environment and community projects across Scotland, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead announced today.
The Scottish Rural Development Programme will receive the funding over the period 2007-2013.
Lochhead said that plans to extend funding to the programme were “excellent news” for rural communities. He continued: "In my first action as Cabinet Secretary, I called in key stakeholders to hear at first hand their views on the programme which they all helped to shape.
"Not only am I able to approve the programme in its entirety, Cabinet have agreed to allocate a further £70 million Scottish Government funding over seven years to expand it further.”
Lochhead called the funding package the “largest investment programme in history for rural Scotland”, and said it would ensure increased competitiveness in agriculture and forestry, and well as enhance the environment and support rural communities.
He also said that the rate of voluntary modulation, the transfer of funds from the Single Farm Payment to Rural Development, would also: “…be much lower than some of the speculative figures that have appeared in recent weeks.”
He continued: "I am also using today's opportunity to announce that we will be going ahead with a £10 million package as part of the seven year programme to attract new entrants into farming. New blood is essential to sustain the vitality of Scotland's rural communities."
Green MSPs gave a cautious welcome to the announcement, but noted that the shift of funding from intensive agriculture to organic farming and agri-environment schemes was still far short of what was possible under EU rules.
Green MSP Robin Harper said: "I welcome these limited additional funds, but they are still far short of an ambitious shift from intensive agriculture to wider organic and environmentally friendly farming activities.
"The rural economy must be given the necessary funding support to change from business-as-usual to a sustainable future. Although the new Minister has gone further than his Labour and Lib Dem predecessors, we will be watching closely to see if all the farmers and applicants for support who were rejected in previous years due to a shortage of money, will continue to be rejected."
In addition Greens point out that much of the additional funding for sustainable rural development is likely to be cash transferred from other parts of the government's environment and rural development budget, so questions remain as to what areas elsewhere are to be cut.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 31 May 2007 )
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