This follows the laying of new regulations which will come into force on 1 January 2021.
The measures mean the Greening scheme will continue into next year, increasing the environmental performance of farming, and businesses will be subject to fewer inspections, reducing potential stress among claimants being inspected, while increasing support that focuses on outcomes.
The Less Favoured Area Support (Scotland) (LFASS) amendments ensure that the Scottish Government maintains this vital support especially as the industry faces the impacts of Brexit and recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said: “We have worked closely with stakeholders and listened to the farming and crofting communities to simplify the schemes we administer to make sure they are as efficient and simple as possible. The Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data) (Scotland) Bill gives us powers to continue CAP payments after Brexit, and make improvements that are tailored to suit Scotland’s unique agricultural and rural needs.
“The changes for inspections focus on improving compliance through support, enhanced guidance, better targeting, and reducing the volume of routine inspections. This will help alleviate any concerns businesses may have.
“In these very uncertain times, we want to provide a sense of certainty to those farming and crofting in our most remote and fragile communities of rural Scotland and we are doing this by increasing the payment rates back to the levels seen in 2018.
“This will allow LFASS payments to compensate farmers for income foregone and for additional costs linked to natural constraints in order to encourage the use of agricultural land, thus contributing to the maintenance of the countryside as well as to the maintenance and promotion of sustainable farming systems.
“We continue to push for assurances that the UK Government will fully replace all lost EU funding so that we can provide assurance to the rural economies of Scotland.” ■
A Fall heatwave will continue into the weekend over portions of the Desert Southwest and central/southern California as a persistent trend of upper-ridging over the region remains in place.