No funding for Harris crofters as farming investment decisions announced

Harris crofters are among many small farmers left frustrated at not receiving funding through the Government’s Future Farming Investment Scheme, a grant scheme intended to help improve the environmental efficiency of agricultural businesses.

While guidance for the £21 million scheme stated that small and island based agricultural businesses would be prioritised, less than 1 per cent (0.65) of the funding pot was allocat ed to the Western Isles, with just four beneficiaries in Lewis and 14 in the Uists.

Dè tha dol? understands that there were no successful applicants from Harris, though local crofters did apply. Na h-Eileanan an Iar MP Torcuil Crichton has called for an inquiry into the distribution of the funding and has requested a review of how the scheme has been handled.

“My mailbox is filling up with correspondence from crofters who have, once again, been left out in the cold. They are more than dis appointed, and rightly, they are demanding answers.”

Mr Crichton has written to Jim Fairlie, the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, to ask for an explanation. Mr Fairlie confirmed that the scheme is already being reviewed.

Of the 7,500 applications for the fund, 3,500 were not accepted because they did not meet eligibility criteria. In one Harris case, a crofter was invited to resubmit paperwork because numerals had been used instead of words to indicate quantities on the application form.

The Scottish Crofting Federation and Lewis and Harris Sheep Producers Association (LHSPA) are among groups asking questions about how the funding was allocated.

“Despite clear assurances from the Scottish Government that small and island producers would be prioritised in this scheme, we have seen money go to the same old places,” said Donald MacKinnon, chair of LHSPA and a Scottish Labour candidate.

“The pitiful amount of funding from this scheme that has come to the Western Isles sends a demoralising message to crofters about how they will be supported through the agricultural transition. - Have you been affected by the FFIS decision?

Please contact dethadol@harrisvs.org.uk to share your story.