Farm minister Fergus Ewing has pledged to do all he can to ensure Scottish farmers and crofters continue to receive financial support once the UK is out of Europe.
Speaking at the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh, Mr Ewing said the farming sector was likely to be more affected than others by the Brexit decision due its reliance on European funding support from the Common Agricultural Policy (Cap).
He described the referendum result as an “historic democratic calamity” and said farmers and crofters across the country would have woken up this morning wondering what the future holds.
“There will be farmers, especially those in the less favoured areas and the upland areas, who will be extremely concerned about the future,” said Mr Ewing.
“I want to assure them that as their farming minister I will be leaving no stone unturned to argue the case for Scottish farmers and crofters to continue to receive the financial support that enables them to stay on the land.”
He said although there would be no immediate withdrawal from Europe, the UK Government needed to give immediate assurances to producers about what subsidy support would be put in place to replace the Cap.
“It is plainly the case that the Scottish Government will be pressing the UK Government to provide clarity as to the future of farm subsidy payments,” added Mr Ewing.
“They are necessary for farming and crofting communities and they are vital for those living in less favoured areas.”
He said EU subsidy support payments to Scotland between 2014 and 2020 were worth 4.6billion euros, while exports of food and drink the EU were worth £1.9billion.
In addition 39% of the total value of Scottish food and drink exports overseas goes to Europe.
