Farmers and food campaigners are set to descend on the Scottish Parliament, demanding that ministers back up their promises on sustainable farming with action.
The Scottish Agroecology Partnership – a new coalition of farming organisations – is organising a rally and community meal on Wednesday 3 September in Edinburgh.
The group, which represents 3,000 farmers and crofters, is urging the Scottish government to honour its commitment to a “just transition” for agriculture, amid concerns that current rural support proposals “fail to deliver” on sustainability.
Despite “promising rhetoric” in the Land and Agriculture Just Transition Plan, the partnership says the government’s latest proposals risk shutting out the very farmers and crofters most ready to lead the shift to sustainable methods.
Speaking on behalf of the partnership, Tara Wight, Scotland campaigns coordinator at the Landworkers’ Alliance, said: “We are challenging the narrative that farmers don’t want change.
"There are thousands of farmers and crofters across Scotland who are ready to lead this transition – but they need policies and funding mechanisms that support them, not shut them out.
“The government’s current rural support proposals fail to deliver on social justice or on offering any meaningful support for farmers and crofters to transition towards a more sustainable and regenerative future.”
The partnership includes eight organisations, including the Landworkers’ Alliance, Scottish Crofting Federation, the Soil Association and the Nature Friendly Farming Network.
Their rally on Wednesday will run from 12–2pm and will feature speeches from farmers and crofters, who will share their experiences and outline their vision.
Ms Wight added: “We are calling on anyone who cares about the future of food and farming to join us at this event to call for positive change.
"It will be a powerful show of solidarity and collective action for a fairer, more sustainable food system.”
According to the partnership, the bulk of the agricultural budget continues to flow towards large landowners, while smaller-scale and agroecological farmers struggle to make ends meet.
This imbalance, they argue, undermines Scotland’s climate, biodiversity and rural livelihood objectives.
Susi Stuehlinger, policy coordinator at the Scottish Crofting Federation and a crofter in the Ross of Mull, said: “Currently, the largest landholdings receive the most agricultural support, while family farms are struggling to survive.
"We need a system that puts communities and ecosystems before corporations and wealthy individuals’ profits, and instead truly supports crofters and small producers in building resilient local supply chains.”
Tim Barnes, a sheep farmer in Dumfries and Galloway, echoed the call for fairer distribution: “Redistribution of agricultural support would sustain and grow our rural communities, as well as enabling the production and distribution of many essential foods at the local level.”
