Fears millions of pounds’ worth of crops could be lost as Fife farmers hit with water ban

A Scottish food industry chief has warned millions of pounds’ worth of crops could be lost after dozens of Fife farmers were hit with a water ban.

From midnight on Saturday, 56 full and 23 partial suspensions of water abstraction will be imposed on farmers in the River Eden catchment area.

It means farmers will be banned from using natural sources such as rivers to water their fields.

It comes as supplies have reached “critical” levels in mid and north Fife.

Environment watchdog Sepa – which is imposing the ban – says the situation is “getting worse with the hot and dry weather continuing”.

And it is feared the situation could last months.

Vegetable supply ‘risked’ as prices rising

Abstraction involves using natural sources such as rivers and their tributaries to water fields – and is particularly important for vegetable farmers.

James Withers, CEO of Scotland Food and Drink, believes the move could also impact on consumers.

Reacting to the ban on Twitter, he wrote: “This water use ban is a huge blow to Scottish veg production.

“Millions of £££ of crops could be lost & veg supply risked – with prices are already rising for families.

Dry weather could last until October

“It will feel to many that the ability of folk to go fishing at the weekend is being prioritised over food supply.”

He added that the agricultural sector has already restricted water use for the crops at highest risk of dying.

Nathan Critchlow-Watton, Sepa’s head of water and planning, told The Courier the decision was not made “lightly” – and is crucial in protecting nature and wildlife.

He said: “The restrictions are entirely weather-dependant.

Water abstraction licences suspended to protect the sustainability of local environments as river and groundwater levels become critical in the east of Scotland. Read more about the current situation https://t.co/EDECR3QaGW pic.twitter.com/1IOF1PISWV

— Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) (@ScottishEPA) August 12, 2022

“The forecast is for continuing dry weather and the same sort of rainfall levels that we experienced in 2003, and this is likely to extend into the beginning of October.

“All the indications from the Met Office are that we are to continue with a prolonged dry spell.”

Sepa says it is working to support soft fruit farmers who may be worst affected by the lack of water.

Mr Critchlow-Watton says the impact of the dry spell is is “affecting Fife farmers more acutely”.

Restrictions could come to Tayside

He added: “The situation for farmers in Angus and Tayside isn’t currently as severe, however if we don’t see sufficient rainfall in the coming months, farmers in these regions may become subject to similar water extraction restriction.

“We are about 16-20 days’ worth of water away from where we are today with respect to Fife.”

The ban comes after drone images taken by The Courier revealed the impact of the hot weather on reservoirs in Fife’s Lomond Hills.

The shortage has also led to Scottish Water asking people in Fife to take shorter showers and avoid using hosepipes.

Iain Brown, horticulture spokesman for the National Farmers’ Union Scotland, told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Friday: “Our primary harvest at the moment is focused on broccoli and cauliflower, and we’ve got a big challenge at the moment of putting enough water on these crops [so] that we can have a sustainable yield, and have the correct quality for our retailers.

“We’ve got an imminent ban on surface water abstraction and three-quarters of the water that cauliflower and broccoli growers use is from that source of water.

“At the moment our yields are 30% below our budget and with a water ban, that could go up to 50% less yield.”