Cash incentive for farmers to rewild land

FARMERS will be paid to take land out of food production and rewild it under post-brexit plans that have been brought forward to this year, the Government said yesterday.

The project is being brought in a year early as the Government attempts to attract farmers to its post-eu sustainable farming incentive (SFI).

Farmers will get payments for taking small areas of grassland out of food production and leaving them unmanaged in a way that will attract wildlife.

They could also be paid to make hedges more wildlife friendly and incorporate legumes into crop rotation.

The Government wants to attract 70,000 farms in England to join its SFI scheme by 2028.

However, only around 2,286 farmers have applied to join so far, with around 1,889 active agreements. It is hoped the new schemes will help the Government hit its net-zero carbon emission goal but green groups argue the proposals do not go far enough.

Martin Lines, chairman of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, said the scheme was a “positive development”, but added: “Individual actions on their own won’t achieve our climate and nature targets. There remains the need for join-up between actions to avoid a piecemeal approach.”