Question marks linger over new farming schemes

The Government’s new environmental land management schemes, which begin this year, have met with a mixed reception. The system, which gradually replaces the old direct payments, has long been vaunted as an effective way to reward farmers for preserving the countryside and the environment. It hinges on several pillars, of which the first – the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) – will be rolled out this spring, with a focus on soil health.

The CPRE hailed the SFI as ‘an important start’ that ‘sets a vital direction of travel’ by establishing the principle of public money for public goods, and noted that it is a taster for the schemes to come in 2024. However, other conservationists, including the National Trust and the Wildlife Trusts, slammed the incentive for its lack of ambition. For Dustin Benton of Green Alliance, “it is a long way from the secretary of state’s vision of regenerative agriculture and a restored natural world, and it provides nothing at all for the large number of farmers who are keen to make their farms net zero. This isn’t the transformation to restorative and net zero farming, and to a countryside rich in nature that was promised.”

Farmers and landowners voiced fears that the transition risks leaving some in the lurch. Although the CLA broadly welcomed the new schemes, with president Mark Tufnell calling it potentially “the most progressive and environmentally responsible… of their kind anywhere in the world”, it pointed out that many farmers are concerned about ‘the imminent cuts to the Basic Payment Scheme’. Tufnell urged the Government to ensure every farmer is supported in the years ahead.