GORDON DAVIDSON

TENANT farmers' ‘right to buy’ must be scrapped if Scotland’s agricultural sector is to thrive and survive, a leading land agent has claimed.

The chronic shortage of farms to let is being exacerbated by legislation that punishes landlords and squeezes available land, said Malcolm Taylor, a rural land management partner at Bell Ingram.

While Mr Taylor welcomed new measures to encourage newcomers to farming, he suggested that they would "fall flat" without the corresponding available land: “It is vital that the government abandons rights to buy for tenancies and provide security and incentives for landlords to let land. A 10-year lease must mean a 10-year lease," he said.

“The government wants a vibrant tenanted farming sector but seems unwilling to facilitate it. While recent announcements by the Royal Bank of Scotland that new entrants to farming need additional support are to be commended, this will be of little use if there are few or no farms available for young entrants to apply for.”

For all the political efforts to create space for new entrants, there remained, said Mr Taylor, "glaring issues" that would continue to prevent many landlords from offering land. What was needed, he said, was an intervention "from the very top" to redress the legislative balance.

Applauding the Forestry Commission's recent policy of creating starter farms to offer a first step on the farming ladder, he pointed out that it offered false hope when there was such a lack of second steps: "The word ‘starter’ implies a progression and suggests that after the initial lease, they will be expected to move on to a larger unit. This is all very well in an ideal world, but in reality there are no farms to progress to," he said.

“What will happen at the end of the tenancy? The tenant could rightly say the farm is their home and business and refuse to move, and this is not an attractive prospect for landlords. Somebody needs to take the lead and the answer is in the government’s hands."

South of the border, some rural councils have addressed the issue and made a success of generating new opportunities for new farmers. Cambridge Council, for example, turned its back on reaping quick capital boosts to its funds by selling land, and instead is supporting tenanted farms.

“The application criteria for these farms are strict," noted Mr Taylor. "Applicants must be between the age of 23 and 40, have had five years’ practical experience or a three-year formal agriculture qualification; have sufficient financial support and must not be from established farms.

“Those who can demonstrate direct employment generation will have enhanced potential. The final element is that the farms will be let on farm business tenancies for a period of more than two years. The kind of flexibility of the FBT is vital to making new tenancies work.”

For in-depth news and views on Scottish agriculture, see this Friday’s issue of The Scottish Farmer or visit www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk