Around 3,000 farmers can apply for closed nature farming scheme after ‘error’
Ministers have apologised for confusion over the notice period for the sustainable farming incentive, which was abruptly shut in March.
Thousands of farmers who had started applications for nature-friendly farming payments before the scheme was abruptly shut will have the chance to apply for funding.
The Government caused uproar when it announced on March 11 that the sustainable farming incentive (SFI), which pays farmers in England for “public goods” such as insecticide-free farming, wildflower strips and managing ponds and hedgerows, was fully allocated for this year.
At the time it said it had stopped accepting new applications for the incentive – the largest part of the new environmental land management (Elms) programme which has replaced EU-era farming subsidies – with immediate effect.
But ministers have apologised for confusion caused by a message “shown in error” when people started an application and saved it, which told them they would receive six weeks’ notice if the Government needed to close applications.
The message, which was shown alongside one correctly telling farmers their application would be available for two months before being deleted if not submitted, “should not have been included and I apologise for the confusion it caused”, food security and rural affairs minister Daniel Zeichner said.
Around 3,000 farmers who started applications after January 12 but had not submitted them when the scheme was halted will now be able to apply for funding up to £9,300 a year – the average value for existing agreements for this year – with restrictions.
Mr Zeichner acknowledged the restrictions were not in the original scheme but said they had been put in place to be fair and reasonable to affected applicants while also “ensuring the prudent use of public money”.
In a written ministerial statement Mr Zeichner said the budget for this year’s scheme had already been fully allocated and the extra applications would have to be funded from other areas of the Environment Department (Defra’s) budget.
He also said that “every penny” committed through more than 37,000 live SFI agreements that were in place before March 11 would continue to be paid to farmers over the coming years, and all eligible applications submitted before applications closed had been taken forward.
The Government is planning to reform the SFI scheme and has promised to provide more details about the new programme later in the summer.
The announcement comes after the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) co-ordinated threatened legal action over Defra’s failure to give the proper notice period for the closure of the scheme, claiming more than 6,000 farmers had started applications when the scheme was suddenly scrapped.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “The Government’s abrupt and wholly unacceptable decision to close the scheme was always wrong.
“While it’s good to see an acknowledgement that the decision to close the scheme was flawed, we are disappointed by the constraints imposed which will still leave many farmers unfairly disadvantaged.
“This is a really critical time for the farming industry, and while today’s announcement falls short of what our members deserve, this issue highlights the NFU at its very best, working with its members to stand up for what we believe is right.”
Martin Lines, chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN), said: “The Government’s decision to review the position of farmers who had started to put SFI applications in is welcome.
“The speed of closure was harsh and didn’t give the six weeks’ notification stated on the website.
“However, this doesn’t help all the farmers who were not able to get their applications started due to work pressures. There is also a clear need to improve the system for SFI.”
