Agriculture is an important sector of the Scottish economy. The vast majority of land in Scotland is under agricultural production and the sector is responsible for much of Scotland's food exports.
In rural areas the industry creates many economic, environmental and social benefits, with a large number of people directly employed in agricultural activities.
The Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) is a £1.6 billion programme of economic, environmental and social measures designed to develop rural Scotland over the next few years, to 2013.
SEARS Annual Review
The SEARS family have published their first Annual Review for 2008/09.
Highlights include:
- Carried out 2,000 fewer inspections or visits to land managers
- Saved the sheep farming industry around £150,000 in groundwater licence charges
- Introduced a 24/7 contact centre and got the SEARS web portal also up and running
- Given land managers the opportunity to change their personal information with up to nine organisations through introduction of single contact
- Co-located SNH, RPID and FCS staff in new office in Golspie
The full review is available via the SEARS website