Rural Support Plan (RSP) - Annex
The Rural Support Plan as required in terms of s2 of the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024 outlining the expected use by Scottish Ministers during the plan period of the powers conferred on them by s6 of the Act - support within the four tier framework
Tier 2 – Enhanced
What will it do?
Tier Two will support farmers and crofters to do even more for climate and nature. It will build on the standards established in Tier 1 and provide additional measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and restore and improve nature for those who opt to go further
What will it achieve?
Tier Two will primarily contribute to the following strategic outcomes:
Tier 2 principal strategic outcomes:
- Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
- Nature Restoration
Progress towards the principal outcomes is expected to have knock-on benefits for other outcomes. Tier Two will also contribute to the following supporting outcomes:
Tier 2 supporting strategic outcomes:
- Enabling Thriving Rural Communities
- High Quality Food Production
It should be noted that principal and supporting outcomes are both important and this distinction reflects how resources are allocated within each Tier. These strategic outcomes will be used as the basis for the monitoring and evaluation of Tier Two and its associated schemes against the objectives set out in the ARC Act.
What has changed?
We will start off using the current Greening requirements and make changes over time. Changes to be introduced from 2026 are:
- Enhanced Greening - increasing the number of arable farms required to manage Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs); existing EFAs have been updated and 4 new EFAs have been added enabling farms to select options which best suit their business model
Contact
Email: CAP.SRDP.Policy@gov.scot