Description
Agriculture’s role in rural economies in Scotland has shifted over the past two decades, moving away from land-based businesses to non-land-based businesses such as tourism, food and beverage activities. However, many Scottish businesses, especially in rural areas, still rely on land-based industries for the future of their businesses and business sustainability. Also, recent policies have mainly focused on the economic contributions of land-based businesses. While enterprises outside these sectors in rural areas have been overlooked. It is also still unclear from the existing evidence on what the challenges of the connections between non-land-based businesses and land-based sectors are, and how important these industries are as contributors or catalysts to rural businesses in Scotland. Therefore, this study aims to provide evidence-based analysis to fill these research gaps by examining the key determinants of the linkages between rural businesses and the relationship with land-based (farming, forestry, and estate) sectors in Scotland. Using a survey of 1,500 businesses whose primary focuses are not agriculture, forestry or landed estate in four Scottish regions, the key findings of Logit Model reveal that businesses located in rural areas are more likely to have the relationship, both direct (e.g., supplying or purchasing goods/services) and indirect connections, with farming, forestry and landed estate industry than urban counterparts. Focusing on rural businesses, the results show that differences in business characteristics (e.g., business size, sectors, type of businesses), business activities (e.g., exporting, importing) and business obstacles (e.g., cashflow, digital connectivity, financial support) significantly influence the connections with these land-based industries. The results also reveal the differences in business performance and business future plans between rural non-land-based businesses having the connections with three land-based industries in different rural classifications: accessible/remote small towns, accessible rural areas, and remote rural areas. Policy recommendations to support rural businesses and future agriculture and land use in rural Scotland are discussed.| Period | 26 Oct 2022 → 28 Oct 2022 |
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| Event title | ISBE Conference 2022 |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | York, United KingdomShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |