‘Tough autumn’ warnings follow the latest setback to sustainable farming’s incentive for restoring nature.
Following setbacks to a post-Brexit program, English farmers are left without essential nature recovery funds and confused of what to grow.
The EU’s shared agricultural policy, which compensated land managers for the quantity of land under their management, is being replaced with a set of payments, one of which is the agricultural sustainability incentive (SFI). Instead of just paying farmers for farming and land ownership, the SFI intends to reward them for protecting the environment, soil, and other public goods.
Farmers are not anticipated getting payments at all until 2024 under the 2023 program, which was originally scheduled to launch in August but has been postponed. because beginning last year, the regulations governing SFI payments have changed.
This is the most recent setback for the post-Brexit plan. Only 224 farms in England received SFI subsidies last year. Farmers only received a very small portion of the payments in 2022. While farmer subsidies were reduced by a standard of 22% last year, SFI payments made up barely 0.44% of the entire funding plan, leaving farmers perplexed as to where the sum of money is going.
This year, the government plans to make even more drastic cuts, reducing payouts by 36%. This is putting pressure on farms, as well as a challenging harvest brought on by unfavorable weather and increased borrowing rates.
Farmers in England have experienced additional basic payment system reductions, according to David Exwood, the vice president of the National Farmers’ Union. Red meat costs are rising while milk costs are down.
“It was one of the most expensive year we’ve ever had, and the harvest was incredibly challenging. Farmers will face a challenging fall.
Farmers Weekly, an industry newspaper, stated that the IT team in charge of the program had experienced technical difficulties, which caused additional delays.
“With the suggested August rollout still to begin, we strongly fear that Defra [the the Department for Environment, Foods and Rural Affairs] may be at risk of failure on all fronts,” said Alice Groom, director of sustainable land utilization planning at the conservation organisation the RSPB.
“The government of the United Kingdom needs to pick up the pace and take the lead here with an unambiguous plan that outlines how ambitious programs, advice, grants, and other assistance will allow all farmers to run successful, environmentally friendly, and low-carbon businesses.”
The Environment Friendly Farming Network’s UK chair, Martin Lines, told Farmers Weekly: “This constant uncertainty leaves farmers with the incapacity to plan their profitable agricultural operations for the years to come, delivering both food production and public amenities.
Farmers are left in the dark and find it difficult to plan their futures throughout this shift since Defra continues to overpromise and provide nothing in return.