The Scottish Conservatives say they would introduce a dedicated source of funding for farmers and rural communities if they were in power.
As day two of the Conservative Party conference gets underway in Birmingham, the party said the SNP has “left rural Scotland behind”.
In a bid to compensate for this they said they would introduce a rural development bank if they were in government in Holyrood.
This bank would be a dedicated fund farmers and community groups in rural areas could rely on for investment.
However the SNP said the Conservatives have “nothing positive to offer” to Scotland’s rural communities.
SNP ‘obsessed with centralisation’
The Conservatives said they would need to introduce a fund like this because rural areas are being ignored by the SNP government which is “obsessed with centralisation”.
They hope the money handed out from this new bank could be used for capital investments or to help people purchase land, machinery and livestock.
Community groups could also use the money to invest in infrastructure, building regeneration and new technologies.
Similar banks already exist in other countries such as the US and India, and the party would expect it to work in a similar way to the British Business Bank.
They added a separate fund which is dedicated specifically to rural development is needed because “there is an inbuilt bias against rural projects” at institutions such as the Scottish National Investment Bank.
Putting rural communities first
Rachael Hamilton MSP, the Scottish Conservatives’ rural affairs spokeswoman, said this policy would support rural communities which are “constantly ignored” by the SNP.
She said: “Our rural first approach would ensure that they are put first and the creation of a rural development bank will be at the heart of that.
“Our farmers and rural areas are being hit hard by rising costs and simply don’t have the same access to crucial services as those living in the central belt.
“The rural development bank would ensure that they have a dedicated funding source where they can apply for loans and grants which would then be reinvested in our rural economy.”
They added that despite the National Farmers’ Union Scotland telling them the coronavirus pandemic, Brexit and the war in Ukraine has created a “perfect storm” for the farming sector, they do not feel Brexit has put farm funding and local produce at risk.
Ms Hamilton added: “[The SNP’s] attitude towards meeting the unique challenges they face won’t change but I’m proud to be bringing forward this new policy to show the Scottish Conservatives are standing up for our rural communities and creating new jobs and opportunities in those areas.”
SNP defend their rural policies
Meanwhile the SNP’s Jim Fairlie, MSP for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire and himself a farmer, said the Conservatives have a history of creating “economic and social disaster” in rural Scotland.
He said: “Douglas Ross claims to be on the side of Scotland’s farmers, but his party has shafted our rural communities by race-to-the-bottom trade deals and an immigration policy that works for nobody.
“Most staggering of all is the Tories’ denial of the existence of the giant elephant in the room – Brexit.
“Douglas Ross cannot wash his hands of this economic and social disaster for rural Scotland which he voted for and his party imposed on Scotland against our will.
“Tories have nothing positive to offer Scotland’s rural communities.
“While they carp from the sidelines, the SNP Scottish Government will continue to deliver for Scotland in partnership with our hard-working rural farmers and their communities.”
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