THE countryside came to the city yesterday to vent its anger at the Government over its handling of the ''crisis'' in agriculture.

At the rally of more than 3000 farmers in Edinburgh comparisons were made with the decline of the coal industry.

Mr John Home Robertson, speaking for the Government, received an occasionally raucous reception when he warned that militant activity of the sort seen recently at Stranraer and Holyhead would achieve nothing.

''I know that the industry made a case for more aid. It may have been possible if it had not been for certain events at Holyhead, Stranraer and Fishguard,'' he said.

Mr Home Robertson gave some cheer to farmers with his message that, with BSE being beaten, the ban on beef on the bone was a ''temporary measure''.

But Mr Stewart Whiteford, acting president of the National Farmers Union of Scotland, told the rally the Government had not even appreciated what was happening in agriculture.

He said the Government wanted to be seen to be tough on public spending.

''But this is not about money,'' said Mr Whiteford. ''It is about fair trade with Europe.''

He asked: ''Who would have thought that Britain, this green and pleasant land, much of it covered in grass, would become a net beef importer?''

Mr George Lyon, acting co-president of the NFUS, highlighted figures just released by the Scottish Ofice showing that Scottish farming income for 1997 had fallen by 34%, which he said was unsustainable in the long-term.

He condemned talk of dependency on handouts, particularly from ministers responsible for the industry's future.

''This is not an industry going round with a begging bowl. This is an industry looking for a chance to compete with our European partners on a fair and equal basis.''

Mr Bill Speirs, the deputy general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, recalled the destruction of the mining industry in the 1980s.

''The devastation that afflicted entire communities dependent on the mining industry must not be allowed to happen to the farming communities of Scotland.''

Mr Jim Wallace, the Scottish Liberal Democrats' leader, said: ''Whether it is through ignorance, complacency, or sheer doggedness, it is clear that this Government just fails to grasp how serious the crisis in the industry is.''

He said the public clearly still wanted to buy beef on the bone.

''[The Government] should have pointed out that there was a miniscule risk and then let the consumer make up his or her mind,'' said Mr Wallace.

Mr John Swinney, the Scottish National Party's agriculture spokesman, won applause when he said: ''Your incomes are down. But the fatcats in the supermarkets pay no price at all.''

He said the industry had been saddled with additional costs that none of its European competitors had to pay and, while scrutiny of beef imports had been promised, inspections were taking place.

He added: ''This rally is not just about farming. It is about the whole future of the rural economy. It is about jobs, local schools and health services, rural shops and agricultural suppliers.''

The former Tory Scottish agricultural minister, Lord MacKay of Ardbrecknish, said claims had been made that farmers would prosper under Labour. ''Well, ye ken noo,'' he told the rally.

''In the past nine months since taking office Tony Blair has put the future of farming in doubt.''

He said tax returns were buoyant and asked: ''Why can't they use a small portion of that to help a valuable industry like farming?''

Mr Home Robertson, a farmer as well as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Agricultural Minister Jack Cunningham, earned ironic cheers when he expressed the Government's support for rural Scotland.

He accused the opposition of ''stoking up a destructive confrontation between this Government and the countryside''.

Mr Home Robertson said the Government had inherited a ''shell-shocked'' Ministry of Agriculture from the Tories.

He compared the ban on beef-on-the bone with the hesitancy of weak ministers in the past, and pledged: ''The rapid eradication of BSE in Britain will make sure that the beef-on-the-bone ban is a temporary measure.''

Mr Home Robertson said help for farmers had to come from taxpayers - ''and they have told us to keep a very tight rein on public expenditure''.

And, taking up references to the miners' strike, he warned: ''If you want a major confrontation with the Government you are welcome to have one. We will all have a very lovely time and the journalists will have a field day.''

He added: ''You are perfectly entitled in a democracy to say and do what you want.

''I am simply saying that you are more likely to make headway through constructive dialogue with the Government.''

After marching along Princes Street, the farmers' representatives handed in a 30,000-signature petition to Bute House, the official residence of Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar.