Greater support for young and new entrants could have been delivered by convergence funding, Scottish Land & Estates has said.
The Scottish government announced earlier this week that the first instalment of funding is to be delivered to farmers across the country.
It stated that a significant proportion will be going to those farming in marginal and remote areas.
But SLE said that it would liked to have seen more discussion with the industry on where cash was targeted.
Stephen Young, Head of Policy at SLE, said there are 'missed opportunities' in this funding allocation.
“Scottish farming’s biggest issue is resilience and profitability – a small slice of this funding could have been used to deliver an element of knowledge exchange to tackle this concern.
“Similarly, we are concerned that this funding will only be used for existing payment recipients.
“Topping up the National Reserve with a small sum, open to all new entrants, would be perfect for investing in farming’s future.”
Mr Young added: “We would have liked to have seen greater discussion with the industry on this allocation and we would welcome the chance to do that before the second tranche is allocated.
“This may also present a good opportunity to intensify discussions on the future of upland, and all rural support more generally.”
