Crofting

A Scottish Government-funded programme that offers landowners, farmers and crofters 100% funding and support to restore their damaged peatlands has won the Holyrood Climate Action Award for Nature and the Environment.

Two Scottish charities, RSABI and the Scottish SPCA, have been chosen to benefit from donations and fundraising following the successful rescue and rehoming of a ewe stranded at the foot of cliffs in the Highlands.

The “Fiona Fund” has been set up by the farmers involved in her rescue in response to a tidal wave of goodwill from the public.

The Natural capital opportunities for farmers survey has been launched and will help to support development of future payment schemes.  

Natural capital is the umbrella term for natural assets that benefit humankind such as woodlands, peatlands and rivers. Ecosystem services are the benefits that flow from these assets, for example carbon storage and clean water.

 Scottish agricultural charity RSABI is working with Dyslexia Scotland to raise awareness of the challenges many people involved in farming face with dyslexia. 

Holyrood’s Rural Affairs and Islands Committee has today launched a call for views to inform its consideration of the Scottish Government’s Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill. 

The legislation represents the Scottish Government’s ‘vision for agriculture’ to transform farming and food production in Scotland and to make it a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.

Scottish farming and crofting families who have been severely hit by October’s extreme weather events are being encouraged to contact RSABI to apply for support via a Flooding Crisis Fund to support those who were most affected.

RSABI, the charity which provides practical, emotional and financial support to people in Scottish agriculture, is offering payments of up to £1000 per farming family business for those who experienced greatest loss as a result of the extreme rainfall and flooding.

Crofting is at the heart of many rural communities and has been for generations, throughout the Highlands and Islands. The Commission has responsibility for both regulating and promoting crofting as a viable and beneficial way of managing land and supporting communities.