Land

Holyrood’s Rural Affairs and Islands Committee has today launched a call for views to inform its consideration of the Scottish Government’s Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill. 

The legislation represents the Scottish Government’s ‘vision for agriculture’ to transform farming and food production in Scotland and to make it a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.

The Scottish Government and NatureScot, working in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with the support of the Green Finance Institute, have announced a second round of a grant scheme to support projects that shape and grow the use of private investment and market-based mechanisms to finance the restoration of Scotland’s nature.

Crofting is at the heart of many rural communities and has been for generations, throughout the Highlands and Islands. The Commission has responsibility for both regulating and promoting crofting as a viable and beneficial way of managing land and supporting communities.

Tickets are now on sale for a Farmers’ Choir concert which is set to raise people’s spirits at the start of 2024, as well as raising funds for Scottish agriculture charity RSABI and Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA). 

Managed by NatureScot, the Helping Nature fund is an element of the Scottish Government’s flagship £65 million Nature Restoration Fund.

The fund supports practical nature restoration projects with grants of £25,000 to £250,000. In this latest round of awards, 27 projects have been offered grants totalling £4.1 million.

Projects offered Helping Nature funding include:

A new Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan will support the Scottish Government’s commitment to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, with 10% in rural and island areas.

The Chief Statistician has released first estimates of the 2023 Scottish harvest.

The figures predict that cereal production will remain in line with the ten-year average despite significant challenges during the year, including high input costs and poor weather condition. Total cereal production is expected to be around 3.0 million tonnes.