Alyn Smith, one of Scotland’s 6 MEPs , has won a breakthrough crucial to farmers. An amendment of his to create a £135 million Relief Fund related to Electronic Identification (EID) of sheep – a tagging requirement – has been passed by the European Parliament’s Agricultural Committee.
The introduction of this fund has further legislative gates to jump but this is a significant first step in offering relief to Scotland’s farmers and crofters from this highly controversial European regulation. The costs of implementing it are prohibitive for small farmers and crofters for whom it has not been designed but who will be bound by it.
The UK Government with the support of the previous Scottish administration had committed the country to compliance with this scheme, which is far adrift of the physical reality of hill farming and of the economics of crofting. The proposed fund has the capacity to bring relief where it will be badly needed.
Commenting on Mr Smith’s success, Highlands & Islands MSP, Dave Thompson, drew attention to the pilot scheme being run through this year by the Scottish Governemnt and aimed to research and test the regulation in practice.
Mr Thompson says: ‘The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs (Richard Lochhead) assured me today (4th September) of the promising progress the EID research pilot is making in helping the industry to recognise both the difficulties and potential solutions needed for this challenging regulation’.
The issue is a feature of today’s Rural Affairs Questions at Holyrood.
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