On the back of recent gains, the Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) has appealed to crofters to come out and provide the support they need against the lobbying of the “Big Boys” in the current reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
“Crofters, as usual, have to fight well above their weight to get what should be coming to them from the CAP” said Patrick Krause, SCF Chief Executive. “The small producers in the North and West are up against the big businesses trying to keep the public money flowing into the South and East. Their representative organisations have a very strong lobby and it is no mean feat for the crofters to get a win now and then.
“So it was music to our ears to hear Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead say that he is ‘minded to look at having a separate scheme for crofting in the new rural development programme’ in our recent meeting with him and his colleague the minister Paul Wheelhouse. We have had to fight very hard for this and are looking forward to good result. Where did the suggestion that the crofters’ grant be opened up to the whole of Scotland come from? One need look no further than the afore-mentioned lobby.
