A total of £964 million has been allocated to Scottish agriculture and the rural economy for 2023-2024, the Scottish government has confirmed.
More than £620 million will provide ongoing agricultural support to farmers, crofters and land managers, the government said in its budget announcement.
Those farming in the most remote areas will continue to receive support through the Less Favoured Areas Scheme (LFASS), which has been allocated £65m.
It comes as the first tranche of the LFASS payments are set to arrive in bank accounts before Christmas.
The support payments are being made a month ahead of previous years and total £55.8 million.
The National Test Programme, which is helping farmers and crofters achieve statutory emissions targets, will see year two funded with £20 million.
Scotland's Rural Affairs Secretary, Mairi Gougeon said farmers and crofters were vital to Scotland’s economy, and the new budget reflected that.
“Despite the difficult financial circumstances... the Scottish government has sought to protect financial support for our farmers," she said.
“In addition, £405.5m of Basic Payment Scheme and Greening payments have already been made to 17,001 farmers and crofters.
“Our ambition to make Scotland a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture is underlined by £44 million of funding.”
The first tranche of LFASS 2022 payments have been processed and will start to arrive in bank accounts from today (21 December), the Scottish government said.
This is ahead of schedule, with 9,899 businesses being paid equating to 92.65% of eligible applications.
