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FOREWORD
This consultation paper proposes key themes and priorities for the Rural Development Strategy for Scotland for the period 2007-13. A complementary consultation on the Scottish Rural Development Programme ( SRDP) that will implement this strategy will be issued in March 2006 and I encourage you to consider and provide your views on both documents.
The Rural Development Strategy will guide our use of European Union ( EU) funds, domestic resources and compulsory and voluntary modulation from the single farm payment. You may have seen media coverage of the EU budget negotiations at the end of 2005 and so will appreciate that the funding position is tight. Furthermore, a final allocation to Member States has yet to be agreed. For this reason you will not find any detailed financial information in this strategy consultation document. However, I hope to be in a position to provide that information in the strategy itself and in the programme document.
Much has been achieved since the launch of the first SRDP in 2000 during a time of major change for rural businesses and communities. Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, enlargement of the EU and changing attitudes in society have placed ever wider demands on land managers and others who live and work in rural areas. Our aim is that the Rural Development Strategy will set out priorities for meeting these challenges in order to shape a sustainable future for farming, forestry, crofting and the communities that live in Scotland's rural and remote places.
The new Programme provides opportunities to build on the quality and competitiveness of our farming and forest industries and to deliver a wide range of benefits for the environment and for the people of Scotland. To do this, we propose to take forward our work under three main themes: underpinning performance and quality in the agriculture, food and forestry sectors; enhancing rural landscapes and the natural heritage; and promoting a more diverse rural economy and thriving rural communities. I believe that these themes and the practical measures that flow from them will help us focus on how to deliver the best outcomes for rural Scotland.
We have led the way in Britain and Europe with the introduction of Land Management Contracts and propose to extend this approach in the new Programme. I hope this will encourage and support land managers and others in rural areas towards a sustainable future. The new Programme offers opportunities for innovation under the European Leader arrangements and I hope that your views in response to this consultation will help us shape a programme that delivers for Scotland. The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme remains an important feature of life in rural Scotland and this consultation seeks your views on our future strategy for less favoured areas too. What this consultation does not do is to set out our detailed plans for these key delivery mechanisms. That information will be found in the subsequent consultation on the Programme.
Much of the work of developing the strategic direction and programme for rural development has been done by you and I am grateful for the contributions you have made. I look forward to hearing your further views on the key themes and priorities for rural development in Scotland from 2007 to 2013 as set out in this consultation
ROSS FINNIE MSP
Minister for Environment and Rural Development
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