Assurances given by UK ministers, at a Northern Isles meeting last week, that all is well with Brexit planning, were simply not enough says the Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF).
“Our members are very worried about the effect of a no deal exit from the EU on the agricultural sector. For Shetland, it would be nothing short of catastrophic,” said Eleanor Arthur, SCF’s Shetland-based director. “Sheep are by far the main product of agriculture here, and if there are tariffs of 40% or even 50% sheep production will simply become unviable for most of us. The ministers at the meeting representing the UK Government just don’t seem to get it. They admit that the sheep sector is the most exposed and say that, in the event of no deal, mechanisms for supporting the sheep industry are in place. What is the budget and when would it kick in? Surely it is an admission of failure that there needs to be mechanisms to mitigate the effects of Brexit?” Read in full here…
