Scottish government ministers have been accused of presiding over a “shambles” and urged to “come clean” over the Future Farming Investment Scheme.
The Future Farming Investment Scheme (FFIS) provides grants to help farmers and crofters invest in new equipment, technology and environmental improvements.
Highlands and Islands MSP Douglas Ross has sharply criticised the rollout of the scheme, saying it has left farmers, crofters and agricultural workers “furious” after missing out on promised grants.
Ross said that key priority groups — including young farmers, new entrants, tenant farmers and island businesses — were repeatedly rejected despite assurances they would be given special consideration.
Quoting a Lanarkshire farmer during a Holyrood debate, Ross told agriculture minister Jim Fairlie the process felt like “selling raffle tickets for the fund” rather than running a fair and transparent system.
He has called on the government to publish a full breakdown of successful and unsuccessful applications by constituency and region to show, as he put it, “the full picture” of how the funding has been allocated.
“The SNP announced this scheme to much fanfare but it has completely failed to deliver for those who need it most,” Ross said.
He added that Fairlie has “failed to answer many key questions” and must explain why even modest grant requests were rejected.
Ross has also written to the minister seeking clarity on what he described as a “huge number” of ineligible applications, accusing the government of mishandling a process that was meant to support the backbone of rural Scotland.
The Scottish government said the scheme was heavily oversubscribed and has since been expanded, with Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon announcing an additional £7 million in funding — taking the total pot to more than £21 million.
She said the FFIS was designed to deliver “practical support” for agricultural businesses through investment in agri-tech and environmental projects. Ministers have also indicated that further funding rounds are being considered “given the significant level of demand.”
NFU Scotland acknowledged the strong level of interest in the scheme, saying the volume of applications “exceeded the funding available” — a clear sign of ambition and investment appetite within Scottish farming.
The union noted that sustained lobbying by NFU Scotland had helped secure a significant budget increase earlier this year, raising total funding to over £21.4 million.
While welcoming the success of some farmers, the organisation said many others were “understandably disappointed” after seeing strong applications rejected.
Initial feedback, it said, highlighted “perceived inconsistencies” in how bids were assessed and concern over low success rates among ministerial priority groups. NFU Scotland said it would seek further talks with ministers to understand these issues.
The union added that the “clear and growing appetite” among farmers to invest in sustainability and productivity underlines the need for long-term, well-funded support schemes.
It said it is already working with the Scottish government on shaping the next round of FFIS, which will be backed by a £26 million budget, to ensure lessons from the current round are carried forward.
