Farm fund sparks collaboration

ASIXTH round of Government funding for collaborative farming communities has been announced this week, ahead of the application window opening at the end of the year.

The £2.5 million Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund aims to encourage collaboration and peer-to-peer learning amongst the farming community.

To apply, groups of farmers and landowners must submit plans showing how they will work together and share knowledge to protect and enhance their local environment, in line with their local Countryside Stewardship priorities.

Successful facilitation groups will also offer training, support and advice to potential applicants for agri-environment schemes.

This year’s fund includes a focus on air quality improvements through slurry removal, the reduction of ammonia emissions, tree planting and shelters; and managing beaver activity that will offer support and advice for landowners when beavers move onto their land.

Farming Minister Victoria Prentis explained that by getting involved in Countryside Stewardship, farmers and landowners alike can play a “crucial role” in supporting efforts to improve the environment and create “cleaner, greener landscapes”.

“With today’s (Monday) announcement we intend to provide sufficient time for potential groups to form and start thinking about their objectives and local priorities, ahead of the fund opening in December. I encourage all interested individuals to get involved.”

So far there have been five rounds of the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund under the current Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), funding 139 groups with over 3,800 members.

This further round of funding is expected to invest in more than 30 facilitation groups.

Paul Caldwell, chief executive of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), said the agency is encouraging uptake from new and existing groups which will support the delivery of large-scale environmental improvement in their local areas.

“I’m pleased that we can continue to provide farmers and landowners the opportunity to amplify the longterm environmental benefits brought by the Countryside Stewardship schemes through the Facilitation Fund,” he added.

“As part of our commitment to a successful agricultural transition to newer schemes, we will to continue to deliver schemes that people can enter now. We are looking to simplify these where we can and with this round of funding we will be refreshing the guidance to participants to make it clearer and easier to access the fund.”

The fund supports the delivery of the Government’s ambition for thriving plants and wildlife as part of the 25 Year Environmental Plan, and is a part of Defra’s (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) plans for a renewed agricultural sector, centred around incentivising sustainable farming practices alongside profitable food production.

Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England, also commented: “Last month Natural England published an evaluation report of the fund which demonstrated how the new, strong connections between group members facilitated by the fund have enabled coordinated action to restore and manage habitat at a scale capable of encouraging environmental recovery – boosting natural resilience for wildlife, farming and livelihoods.”

■ Applications will be invited from December, with a closing date of Wednesday, January 19, 2022. For more information, please visit the website www.gov.uk/government/ collections/countryside-stewardship-facilitation-funding