NFU Scotland has asked the UK government for the promised uplift of £160m to be delivered to the Scottish government 'as soon as possible'.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer gave the green light for the funds last month.
The uplift has been hard fought for since the funding decision was taken by the government in 2013
It goes back to the EU Multi Annual Financial Framework, which sets out the aim of redistributing CAP payments more equitably across the EU based on average €/hectare.
Under the framework, all countries receiving less than 90% of the EU average would receive a funding uplift.
As the member state, the UK only qualified for an uplift because of Scotland, whose per hectare rate is only 45% of the EU average.
In light of difficult market conditions across agriculture and Brexit-led uncertainty, NFU Scotland is asking the government for this money to be delivered 'as soon as possible'.
The union's position paper, released on Tuesday (1 October), states that the additional funding 'makes good what Scotland should have received' as part of its Pillar 1 budget from 2015.
This injection of the funding is significant, and NFU Scotland believes it must be used in the 'most balanced and deliverable manner'.
It adds that the funds should take into account 'existing policy decisions, fairness and delivery' - and be targeted solely to currently active farmers and crofters.
The union said the uplift must be 'exclusively retained as direct support' and not be used to support Pillar 2 schemes such as Less Favoured Areas Support.
The £160m is a one-off uplift and is entirely separate to the outcome of the Bew Review which will see additional funding of £51.4 come to Scotland, split between 2021 and 2022.
President Andrew McCornick said: “This was hard fought for over many years and is a real positive at a time of unprecedented uncertainty and a difficult market situation across all sectors.
“It will provide Scottish agriculture with a significant injection of funding and must be used in the most balanced and deliverable manner to be most effective at this time.
“We believe that any new Pillar 1 funding must mean Pillar 1 delivery. Given the challenges facing the viability of farms, the funding must be exclusively retained as direct support and delivered on a sector-neutral basis.
“The funding should essentially be treated as if it had been received as Pillar 1 funding from 2015 and distributed within Pillar 1 to fulfil existing policy decisions through Scotland’s existing direct support schemes.”
