Badenoch MSP welcomes rural loan scheme
Kate Forbes MSP today (Friday, December 13) welcomed confirmation from the Scottish Government that loans have been offered to hill and upland farmers and crofters to provide them with financial support and certainty in the New Year.
Under the national Less Favoured Areas Support Loan Scheme 2019, eligible farmers and crofters will be offered up to 95 per cent of their Common Agricultural Policy LFASS payment from January.
A similar scheme in 2018 delivered payments worth more than £52 million to over 8,000 hill farmers and crofters.
Ms Forbes (SNP, Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) said: “At a time of uncertainty and difficulty, it is important that crofters and hill farmers in the Highlands get as much support as possible.
“This loan scheme allows LFASS payments to be made as quickly as possible in the New Year, at the height of the winter months.
“Margins are tight, the weather is miserable and the future of agriculture hangs in the balance as Scotland’s relationship with the rest of the EU is still unknown.
"I’d encourage any eligible crofters to apply.”
