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News

NFFN calls for interim farm support scheme after shock closure of SFI to new applications

England
Defra
ELM
Environmental Land Management scheme
Farming budget
Government
policy

Farmers not currently signed up to an agri-environment scheme urgently need an alternative to stabilise their financial position following Defra’s abrupt closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI).

The NFFN is calling on the Government to introduce an interim scheme to assist farmers in England not currently enrolled in the SFI.

This follows the shock decision by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to close the SFI to new applications on Tuesday evening (11 March) without warning.

The Government said the SFI - a key aspect of England's Environmental Land Management scheme (ELMs), which rewards farmers for actions that benefit biodiversity and the environment - had exhausted its funding.

Our proposed interim SFI would provide targeted assistance to farmers most in need, offering a streamlined version of environmental support until a more comprehensive solution is available. This would help stabilise the financial position of farmers who cannot afford to wait 18 months for the next round of government support.

We have also criticised the SFI’s design and administration, as too much of the budget has gone to unambitious actions that have delivered little for the environment. 

NFFN CEO Martin Lines said: “The Government needs to act swiftly to introduce this interim support scheme. We're not expecting a fully-fledged solution, but rather a targeted approach to help those farmers who need it most and cannot wait 18 months for support.

“Many of the problems that have led to the abrupt closure of the SFI were predictable and should have been foreseen by both ministers and civil servants. The way this closure has been handled has left thousands of farmers high and dry, with many now in a really difficult financial position. The lack of prior warning was completely unacceptable. Lessons must be learned from this. 

It has become increasingly difficult for farmers to understand what they should do and where they fit in. Many are feeling frustrated and let down, with no clear opportunity to be rewarded for delivering public goods in the near future.

Martin Lines

“The abrupt closure of the SFI has also exposed fundamental flaws in its design. It's now clear that broad and shallow schemes do not deliver for farms or nature. Any new scheme must truly deliver on the Government’s key targets, such as access to nature, natural flood management, the restoration of our landscapes and biodiversity, as well as guarantees of food availability."

Defra said on Tuesday evening (11 March) that all existing SFI agreements will be paid in full, while eligible applications which have been submitted will be processed. However, anyone who started an SFI application but did not complete it will no longer be able to access the scheme, unless they could not submit due to technical issues or because they required further support from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

While it is good news that so many farmers have been accepted into SFI and more of England's farmland is now covered, it cannot be overlooked that many more have been prevented from accessing the scheme because it is overly complicated, schemes do not stack together well and there have been delays responding to applications and queries.

We are also concerned that the sudden withdrawal of the SFI application process has severely damaged trust between farmers and Government, at a time when relations were already strained.

The Government must recognise that farmers need certainty to make long-term plans for managing their land, and the systems supporting them cannot keep changing rapidly or be paused.

Our CEO Martin added: "With so much focus on SFI to deliver public goods compared to other parts of ELMs, it has become increasingly difficult for farmers to understand what they should do and where they fit in. This has left many farmers feeling frustrated and let down, with no clear opportunity to be rewarded for delivering public goods in the near future.

“Farmers are ready and willing to deliver many of this Government’s key priorities, but this will only happen with timely and consistent support."